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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sandals Resorts International is laying off 650 Caribbean hotel workers in response to a decline in tourist bookings, the company reported. The cuts in The Bahamas, Jamaica and St Lucia represent seven per cent of the Jamaica-based resort chain's workforce, spokeswoman Rachel McLarty said. The hotel operator said the layoffs would help the company stay competitive during the world financial crisis, which has hit the Caribbean's vital tourism industry hard and halted construction of some new developments. The announcement added to economic woes in The Bahamas, where the tourism sector employs 65 per cent of the workforce and several other properties including the sprawling Atlantis resort have announced major cutbacks. |
