Hundreds of job cuts in Caribbean
Sandals Resort International to send home workers

~~Adz:Right~~KINGSTON, Jamaica – A decline in tourist bookings has forced Sandals Resort International to lay off some 650 of its employees across the Caribbean.

The announcement was made a couple of days ago and, according to www.caribbeean360.com, the largest hotel chain in the region informed that the job cuts would take place in Jamaica, St. Lucia and the Bahamas where 285, 200 and 150 employees respectively would be sent home.

The report carried by Caribbean360 also states that Sandals expressed its regret for having to make such a decision at this time and noted, “This decision has not been an easy one for us to make and it is one which will have an impact on Sandals and Beaches Resorts right across the region in countries where we operate. Had we not made operational changes earlier, the staff cuts would have been greater at this time.”

The statement further reads, “The duration of this global economic downturn is so far uncertain, and the coming tourism season is going to be a really tough one for the industry. However, we are confident that given the strength of our brand and our ongoing and escalated efforts in the marketplace, we will be around to see a strong recovery in the travel and vacation market.”

Amidst the not-so-good news seems to be a glimmer of hope for some of the workers as reported by Caribbean360: “Sandals said that 104 of its workers sent home in Jamaica would soon take up new employment at the company's Beaches resort in the Turks and Caicos Islands where the Italian Village will be opened in January next year.”

Other resorts including Wyndham and the Atlantic Beach have carried out hundreds of job cuts with Sandals being the latest to do so.