Tropicana to lay off nearly 3,000 Atlantic City workers

Tropicana Atlantic City laid off 2,704 employees this week as the state-ordered casino closures enter their second month and New Jersey’s gambling sites see steep across-the-board cuts in profits.

The layoff was effective April 11, according to a WARN notice filed on the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s website. It was first reported by NJ Advance Media.

Representatives for El Dorado Resorts, which owns the Tropicana, declined to comment.

El Dorado said in an April 9 filing to its shareholders that 90 percent of the company’s employees will be furloughed nationwide, including corporate staff.

Gov. Phil Murphy ordered the closure on March 16 of New Jersey’s nine casinos – part of a bid to stomp out the spread of COVID-19 by starving the virus of any potential new hosts.

Murphy has also ordered the closure of any “non-essential” retail outlets such as bars, dine-in restaurants, salons, gyms, theaters, nightclubs and malls. His order prohibits non-essential travel, non-essential construction, schools, and public gatherings such as concerts and sporting events.

In March, the American Gaming Association estimated that a shutdown of just two months for the state’s nine casinos could spell a loss of $1.1 billion in economic activity and leave nearly 33,300 people in the state without a job.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:41 a.m. EST on April 16, 2020 to reflect that El Dorado declined to comment.