Boyd Gaming Announces Layoffs in Indiana for Belterra, Blue Chip Casino Staffs

Boyd Gaming has declared some permanent reductions to its workforce.

A month ago, casinos in the Hoosier State resumed operations. However, despite being back in business, they are beginning to experience the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boyd Gaming, the owner of Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City and Belterra Casino in Florence, Indiana, is facing a situation where many employees from both locations may lose their jobs.

Boyd stated that the layoffs will be towards the lower end of the 25-60% range that the company declared in May.

Though most of our properties have reopened since the pandemic, we’re still grappling with significant business restrictions and lower visitation levels than before the outbreak. Due to these enduring challenges and the ongoing uncertainty, we’ve decided to permanently lay off team members who were still furloughed and hadn’t been called back to work.

Future uncertain for workers furloughed from casinos

Economic consequences became unavoidable when casinos closed their doors for several months.

During the shutdowns, Boyd was estimated by Macquarie Securities to be burning $3.2 million daily.

Even though casinos have reopened, things are still not back to normal.

The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) maintains a stringent set of regulations that casinos must adhere to. Currently, amenities such as buffets and valet parking remain closed.

For numerous workers and thousands more across the state, there may be no foreseeable end to these furloughs.

On July 18, when Indiana advances to stage five of its reopening plan, casinos will have the capacity to bring all their employees back to work.

Just because casinos have the ability to reopen everything, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will.

Several casinos have been implementing additional safety precautions to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Should they persist in prioritizing safety, they might keep high-contact amenities such as buffets shut down for an indefinite period.

The increase in COVID-19 cases nationwide has also led to health worries for the workers who are still on duty.

In the upcoming months, we could potentially see another wave of shutdowns. This would likely result in a surge of permanent layoffs, extending beyond just Boyd Gaming to include more companies.

Caesars Entertainment has not laid off any employees.

Despite potential future layoffs at Indiana casinos, none will occur at any of Caesars’ establishments.

This is due to a new requirement imposed by the IGC.

Last Friday, the commission approved the merger between Caesars and Eldorado.

Nonetheless, its approval was granted under certain stipulations. One such condition was that Caesars must maintain its employment levels for a minimum of three years.

The IGC ensured that the requirement included workers who are presently still on furlough.

Until at least July 2023, no employees in the Hoosier State will be laid off by Caesars.

The company's workers have experienced a significant victory. Centaur Acquisition, owned by Caesars originally, indicated possible layoffs at Caesars locations such as Indiana Grand Casino.

Centaur Acquisition, LLC plans for the furloughs to be temporary. However, due to the unpredictable nature of COVID-19, there’s a chance these furloughs might turn into permanent layoffs.

That possibility has been dismissed since the company agreed to the IGC’s conditions.

After the merger’s completion, these Indiana casinos will be owned by Caesars:

• Harrah's Hoosier Park
• Indiana Grand
• Horseshoe Hammond
• Tropicana Evansville
• Caesars Southern Indiana

However, the IGC is mandating that Caesars sell three of its casinos. The company has pre-emptively announced probable sales of Tropicana, Caesars Southern, and Hammond.

Caesars must sell the casinos before December 31, 2020.

Once those three are acquired by another company, they will not be obligated to adhere to the no-layoff policy set for July 2023. The new owner will have the discretion to reduce the workforce as they deem necessary.

Despite the uncertain future for many of the state’s casino workers, Caesars employees, at least, have an additional safety net for the time being.