ELIZABETH — Former employees at Caesars Southern Indiana say the casino has conducted mass layoffs this week.
The News and Tribune spoke Friday to three former Caesars Southern Indiana employees, who asked to remain anonymous. The two longtime employees of the casino confirmed they lost their jobs this week, along with many others across various departments.
A spokesperson for Caesars Southern Indiana confirmed that “changes have taken place and positions have been affected,” but she declined to elaborate further at this time.
As of Friday afternoon, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development had not posted a WARN notice for the recent Caesars Southern Indiana layoffs on its website, but on April 29, a WARN notice for the casino was filed announcing furloughs for 1,161 employees due to COVID-19.
Caesars Southern Indiana closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it opened to limited capacity in June. In the April WARN notice, Brad Seigel, Caesars Southern Indiana senior vice president and general manager, said the company “intends for the furloughs to be temporary, but it is possible that the furloughs could be a permanent layoff.”
One former employee said she estimates that somewhere between 150 and 200 people have lost their jobs this week, and another estimated about 200. According to former Caesars workers, the departments facing layoffs include the poker room, servers, bartenders, valets and hosts. Some learned about the termination of their jobs in a Tuesday Zoom call, and some learned Thursday, employees said.
Former employees said it is uncertain whether these layoffs are permanent, and they were told there was a chance of returning. According to the former workers, some employees laid off this week received severance, but others did not. The workers interviewed by the News and Tribune expressed concerns about their severance packages, including some who are uncertain about whether their health insurance will continue.
One worker, who has been furloughed since March, said there has been confusion about whether her benefits will be terminated. Her job was eliminated effective Oct. 1, she said. She was told during the Tuesday Zoom meeting that an “uncertain business climate” amid the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the reasons given for the decision.
“It’s sad and disheartening,” she said. “I understand if these are business decisions, but their delivery of terminating us was pretty matter of fact. It wasn’t a thank you for all time you put in this place, it was this is how it is, you guys should appreciate what the company’s done for you.”
Another worker who was laid off this week and furloughed since March said the whole situation has been “wishy-washy,” and the severance package he received was far less than he expected. He was a longtime worker at the casino, but the severance package is only eight weeks of pay, he said, and after the severance, he would have to pay full price for COBRA.
Another former employee laid off this week and furloughed since March said the way the casino handled the severance for the laid-off employees was “complete hogwash.”
“It was kind of devastating,” he said. “They told us months ago they were going to send out letters telling us [beforehand] if we were to lose our jobs — they told us this, but I don’t think any of us got letters. We had people who were full-time and went down to part-time to do the company a favor, and they turned around and said, you’re part-time, you’re not getting any severance.”
In December, Caesars Southern Indiana opened the new $90 million land-based casino near where the Horseshoe Southern Indiana riverboat casino used to sit on the Ohio River. Horseshoe rebranded itself as Caesars Southern Indiana in May 2019.
According to the casino’s website, the casino has implemented a number of safety protocols, and the poker room, cocktail service and casino valet is not open at this time. The Laurel Lounge is also not offering food or bar service at this time.
It is unclear at this time whether the changes implemented by Caesars this week are connected to the Indiana Gaming Commission’s regulations.
According to Indiana Gaming Commission Deputy Director Jenny Reske, the agency has been reviewing casino requests to expand gaming capacity and issuing approvals regarding table games, and with Indiana’s move to Stage 5, the commission invited casinos to submit requests for expanded poker capacity and await requests.
Some requests submitted prior to Level 5 were not eligible for approval, she said.
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