Macau's Venetian sacks further 500 staff as credit crunch bites

The Venetian, a massive hotel and casino complex billed as the cornerstone of a new Las Vegas-style strip, has cut the weekly working week for its casino workers, and laid off 500 staff, the firm said in a statement.

"The company has adopted a series of measures to control operating cost in all business areas, including letting go approximately 500 employees across all levels who are not Macau residents," a Venetian spokesman said. "(These include) about 100 management-grade expatriate employees in gaming operations," the statement, released late Monday said.

It said many of the workers would be offered alternative employment at the firm’s new casino project in Singapore. Last month, the US-based firm said it was firing up to 11,000 mainly construction staff as it halted work at a new 6,400-room resort close to the Venetian. The firm said it was delaying the development until it could secure additional funds for the us$ 3.7 billion project.

Reports said William Weidner, Sands global president, also blamed the Chinese government’s decision to reduce the number of visitors to Macau for the delay. Las Vegas Sands’ US-listed share price has collapsed from around us$ 148 last October to less than six dollars on worries about its heavy debt levels.