New Mexico casino furloughs 180 employees

In a notice sent to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, Tesuque Casino announced it is furloughing almost 200 workers.

The casino informed the state of its intent under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, Albuquerque Business First reports. Under the WARN Act, employers are required to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs.

"We would have like to have given more notice of this action, but were unable to do so because of how quickly our operations were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization's pandemic declaration on March 11th, the President's declaration of a national emergency on March 13th, and other related governmental announcements and actions," the notice said, which was sent on April 1.

The furloughs "will continue indefinitely, but are intended to be temporary and last less than six months," the letter says. The first furloughs were set to occur April 1. All tribal casinos had closed in an effort with the state government to reduce the spread of COVID-19 about two weeks earlier, KOB reported.

The 72,000-square-foot Tesuque Casino debuted to the public on Black Friday 2018. It expected to employ a total of around 275 at the time of its opening, meaning the recent furloughs could represent over half its workforce.