Cambodia’s largest casino cuts 1,300 jobs amid pandemic
Cambodia’s largest casino, NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, is cutting 1,300 jobs as its once thriving business nearly collapsed and profit slumped amid the Covid-19 pandemic which is hitting the country hard.
To worsen things, the staff made redundant will receive only a fraction of the severance pay they are legally owed, according to the workers’ union, as the ongoing pandemic threatens labour laws worldwide, the South China Morning Post reported.
The 1,300 people, representing about 15 per cent of NagaWorld’s staff, will be laid off in the next few weeks. They will likely lose thousands of dollars each because severance packages will be calculated based on reduced wages in 2020 and in accordance with government guidelines introduced to help businesses hit by the pandemic, the union said.
Absence of international tourists sends profits tumbling
The NagaWorld resort, which opened in 1995 in Cambodia’s capital, has themed gaming halls, almost 1,700 luxury rooms, karaoke lounges, spas and an underground shopping center. It was allowed to remain open for most of 2020, only closing from April to July. But with no inbound tourism to speak of and gambling being illegal for Cambodian nationals, NagaWorld profits dropped to $102 million in 2020 from $521 million in the previous year.
The casino-resort, which has exclusive gaming rights in Phnom Penh, suspended operations again last month after several staff tested positive for the coronavirus. The city went into a lockdown on April 15 and cases are currently at their peak, with 82 deaths and 11,000 cases since the pandemic began.
Allowing the casino – whose Malaysian CEO and founder, billionaire Chen Lip Keong, has donated $10 million to the government’s Covid-19 fund to purchase vaccines – to slash severance payments would set a dangerous precedent, campaigners said.
Cambodia’s largest casino, NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, is cutting 1,300 jobs as its once thriving business nearly collapsed and profit slumped amid the Covid-19 pandemic which is hitting the country hard. To worsen things, the staff made redundant will receive only a fraction of the severance pay they are legally owed, according to the workers’ union, as the ongoing pandemic threatens labour laws worldwide, the South China Morning Post reported. The 1,300 people, representing about 15 per cent of NagaWorld’s staff, will be laid off in the next few weeks. They will likely lose thousands of dollars each because severance...
Cambodia’s largest casino, NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, is cutting 1,300 jobs as its once thriving business nearly collapsed and profit slumped amid the Covid-19 pandemic which is hitting the country hard.
To worsen things, the staff made redundant will receive only a fraction of the severance pay they are legally owed, according to the workers’ union, as the ongoing pandemic threatens labour laws worldwide, the South China Morning Post reported.
The 1,300 people, representing about 15 per cent of NagaWorld’s staff, will be laid off in the next few weeks. They will likely lose thousands of dollars each because severance packages will be calculated based on reduced wages in 2020 and in accordance with government guidelines introduced to help businesses hit by the pandemic, the union said.
Absence of international tourists sends profits tumbling
The NagaWorld resort, which opened in 1995 in Cambodia’s capital, has themed gaming halls, almost 1,700 luxury rooms, karaoke lounges, spas and an underground shopping center. It was allowed to remain open for most of 2020, only closing from April to July. But with no inbound tourism to speak of and gambling being illegal for Cambodian nationals, NagaWorld profits dropped to $102 million in 2020 from $521 million in the previous year.
The casino-resort, which has exclusive gaming rights in Phnom Penh, suspended operations again last month after several staff tested positive for the coronavirus. The city went into a lockdown on April 15 and cases are currently at their peak, with 82 deaths and 11,000 cases since the pandemic began.
Allowing the casino – whose Malaysian CEO and founder, billionaire Chen Lip Keong, has donated $10 million to the government’s Covid-19 fund to purchase vaccines – to slash severance payments would set a dangerous precedent, campaigners said.
