Las Vegas Sands Corp. says it plans to cut as many as 4,000 more jobs in Macau and Hong Kong in the wake of its cost control drive, following the halting of construction on its USD12 billion Cotai Strip development.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 jobs will be eliminated by September, on top of the company’s workforce reduction to 17,500 from ‘close to 20,000’ at its peak in Macau, Michael Leven, the new LVS Chief Operating Officer said in an interview.
“Macanese workers will be not affected that much, it will affect the expatriate population more so,” Mr Leven said.
“Some of those people are transferred to Singapore, some are no longer required, and some are redundant”. Mr Leven, though, didn’t explain the difference between being surplus to requirement and being redundant.
Additional staff for Marina Bay Sands in Singapore will be hired nearer to the time of its opening, added Mr Adelson, Las Vegas Sands chief executive officer and chairman.
“At this stage of the game, when we need to tighten the belt, then we should have just-in-time employees, plus a little bit, plus a cushion,” he said.
The company wants to reduce Macau staff to between 13,000 and 14,000 until more are needed after construction resumes, possibly this year, Mr Adelson said. Las Vegas Sands stopped building halfway through phases five and six, which includes the Shangri-La and St. Regis hotels.
The operating Macau properties “have matured to the extent where you now know what you need to effectively operate,” Mr Leven said.
“When you open new properties, generally speaking, you run on the high side of staffing and requirements because you don’t have really a knowledge of what the volumes will be in all the areas, so you have to make adjustments and it’s not unusual, after opening six or eight months to be able to right size,” he added.
The casino operator “expects to do better” than the USD470 million cost cuts it has targeted. About 90 percent of the savings may be permanent, Mr Leven said.
“We’re managing to the levels of business that we have, as opposed to the levels of business that we used to have,” he added.
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