An amendment allowing Harrah’s New Orleans to reduce its staff by 400 to 2,000 employees recently was added onto Senate Bill 236, which deals with Louisiana’s operating license Caesars Entertainment, operators of the downtown casino. But action on the bill was delayed for a week after lawmakers were informed New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and city council members were not aware of Harrah’s plan.
Dan Real, Southern regional president for Caesars Entertainment and senior vice president and general manager for Harrah’s New Orleans, said the staff reduction had nothing to do with the citywide indoor smoking ban that went into effect April 22. Real said decreasing staff will bring labor costs more in line with industry competitors. “We’re trying to run our business in a manner that is efficient,” Real said. Harrah’s unsuccessfully tried to get an exemption to the smoking ban, contending it could lose up to 20 percent of revenue based on the experiences of other casinos.
Under its gaming license, Harrah’s agreed to maintain certain staffing levels. The amendment would lower that level. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s press secretary, Brad Howard, said, “As a condition of its lease as the state’s only land-based casino, Harrah’s Casino made a job creation commitment to the people of New Orleans and Louisiana. We should continue to hold them accountable to that commitment. Mayor Landrieu opposes this legislation, which basically allows Harrah’s Casino to unfairly renege on its promise to the people of New Orleans with no valid reason to do so.”
Real said staff reductions would be handled by attrition. The casino has a turnover of about 600 employees annual and many of those jobs will not be filled, he said. Several state Senators said “attrition” was too broad a term and were concerned that Harrah’s did not have a detailed plan. State Senator Karen Peterson, who represents Harrah’s district, said, “I would hope you can give us a real plan so people will know how you are going to do this.” She said based information provided by the casino, she could understand the need for reducing the staff. However, she said she has not made up her mind.
