On Friday, SeaWorld Entertainment announced the company would furlough more than 90% of its employees by April 1.
The mass-furlough and park closures come as the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, and businesses continue to furlough and layoff employees due to the virus’s impact on business.
Busch Gardens announced a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Employees will be eligible for unemployment, and the furlough is indefinite until “business conditions” improve.
“As a company in an industry dependent on travel and tourism, the current pandemic has impacted our business significantly,” according to a statement from SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment. “Our parks will remain closed and are unable to generate revenue; therefore, we have made the painful but necessary business decision to temporarily furlough over 90% of our current workforce, including corporate employees, to position the company for long-term viability. During this time, our focus is on resuming normal operations and welcoming back guests and ambassadors as quickly as possible.”
SeaWorld’s furlough comes as Macy’s furloughs nearly 130,000 of their workforce. Macy’s announced it’s furloughing most of its workforce, including almost 130,000 employees. Workers will continue to receive health benefits until the end of May 2020.
“Across Macy’s, Bloomingdales, and Bluemercury [beauty] brands, we will be moving to the absolute minimum workforce needed to maintain basic operations,” the retailer said Monday.