Langham Hotel Lays Off 472 Employees As Coronavirus Continues
The Langham Huntington hotel in Pasadena laid off 472 employees permanently during the coronavirus shutdown, according to state filings.
California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN Act, requires employers to provide a 60-day notice to their employees and the state of facility closures, relocations or mass layoffs.
The Langham is one of several hotels that have been impacted by the drop in tourism and business due to the shutdowns caused by the coronavirus. In the state's latest WARN filings, filed on July 1, several hotels announced permanent and temporary layoffs amid the pandemic.
The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills in April said it would lay off 575 employees temporarily. The Hyatt Regency in Sacramento permanently laid off 203 employees in June.
In Pasadena, the Langham Huntington is a 379-room luxury hotel. It was a Ritz-Carlton before being rebranded in 2007 as the Langham Huntington.
The Langham Huntington sent out its layoff notice on May 26, a little more than a month after announcing that it would temporarily suspend hotel operations.
The hotel was slated to reopen on July 1 as part of a phased reopening plan, according to the hotel website, which says the hotel developed and prepared new health and safety protocols.
But the recent uptick in the number of coronavirus cases across the state has stalled the hotel's reopening plans. As of July 5, California has recorded 260,155 coronavirus cases and 6,331 deaths. In the past week, the state has averaged 7,059 new cases and nearly 63 new deaths per day, according to the LA Times.
"In light of the troubling spike in COVID-19 cases in California over the past week, we have made the difficult decision to delay the hotel’s reopening for the safety of our colleagues, guests and community," a statement on the reopening delay read. "Our hope is to be back in operation and open as soon as this situation is contained, so that we can continue to be Los Angeles’ original getaway. We expect to be able to communicate a reopening date at that time."
A Bisnow request for comment from Langham was not returned as of press time.
