HMSHost, a global restaurant operator found in several airports, announced plans to permanently lay off 177 workers at its various Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) dining locations as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hinder air travel.
HMSHost will also be laying off 42 employees at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro. Both layoffs become effective Oct. 15 of this year.
“Due to the slow recovery and challenging business climate, HMSHost has made the difficult decision to lay off a significant portion of our associates. We are deeply grateful to all of our associates for their commitment and care for our guests and one another to make HMSHost a best-in-class company,” a spokesperson for HMSHost told North Carolina Business News Wire in an emailed statement.
When the coronavirus pandemic initially hit the travel industry, HMSHost decided to furlough many of its corporate and front-line associates. The company provided benefits and allowed furloughed workers to use all available paid time off.
“We had anticipated being able to return our associates to work as business returned. However, the recent surge in COVID-19 cases nationally has stalled passenger traffic, and there is no short-term end in sight to the economic crisis,” the spokesperson added.
At the time of this writing, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. rose above 5.26 million, with 167,000 deaths. In North Carolina, 141,000 cases have been confirmed, with 2,313 dead.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce received the layoff plans for both airports on Wednesday per the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The law requires employers to provide 60-day advance notice of closings or mass layoffs.
The company previously laid off 812 employees at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in March, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a 2016 press release, the company was awarded an 11-year contract at RDU valued at $66 million to operate new airport dining spaces in Terminal 2, Concourse D through 2027.
HMSHost is a global restaurant company, operating in 31 countries and more than 120 airports worldwide.
The WARN report for 2020 can be found here.
