Projo Biz Blog

The tribe that owns the Foxwoods Resort Casino says nearly 200 employees have been laid off.

A spokeswoman for the Mashantucket Pequots says the layoffs of middle managers and some hourly employees are part of what she calls a strategic organizational review process begun in January.

"[Layoffs] are scattered across departments," said Lori Potter, the Mashantucket spokeswoman.

The job cuts are believed to be the first in the casino's 16-year history and follow a similar layoff last month in the tribal government's workforce.

The workers let go yesterday will get two weeks severance pay for each year they were employed up to 13 years as well as health benefits, she said.

Foxwoods employs about 10,000 people at its casinos, including 1,747 at the newly opened MGM Grand.

This week's job cuts do not affect MGM Grand, the $700-million hotel and casino wing opened last month, Potter said.

The addition helped Foxwoods reverse an eight-month decline in slot machine revenues. Foxwoods saw a nearly 8-percent increase in its slot win compared with May of last year. Nearby rival Mohegan Sun also eked out an increase as slot win crept up two-tenths of a percent. Slot win is the money left after the machines pay out any winnings to bettors.

The casino industry, like many other employment sectors, is being hurt by a shaky national economy. Spiking fuel prices and plummeting home values are making many Americans cautious about spending.

Figures from the 12 states where commercial casinos are legal show revenue at gambling halls in those states dropped 1.3 percent, combined, in the three months ending Jan. 31, compared with the same period a year ago, according to the American Gaming Association.

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