ARCHIVED - 160 personnel will be laid off at the La Manga Club in April
Grupo Hesperia claims that staff cuts were envisaged before the pandemic struck
The aim is to re-open the prestigious resort for the summer of 2021
Following the warning last week that many of the staff at the luxury La Manga Club resort near Belones could face redundancy rather than being kept on the temporary ERTE furlough scheme which has been in place since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the owners, Grupo Hesperia, have now specified that approximately 160 of the 390 employees will have to be laid off.
It is now almost a year since activity at La Manga Club ground to a halt as the first wave of Covid infection brought about a national lockdown, and apart from a brief and partial re-opening last summer the complex has remained dormant ever since. The company explains that the cut in staff costs is necessary in order to guarantee the long-term financial viability of the resort, which over the last 50 years has become one of the leading golf destinations in Europe.
Grupo Hesperia hope to have the redundancy program up and running by 1st April, and they also clarify that layoffs were part of the long-term planning when they acquired the resort in the summer of 2019, prior to the start of the global health crisis.
It is still intended for the accommodation, sports and leisure facilities and numerous bars and restaurants to re-open as soon as pandemic restrictions are relaxed sufficiently, with the aim of being as close to “normal” as possible for the summer and returning as one of the flagships of tourism in the Costa Cálida.