Layoffs questioned by senator
The casino industry in the Philippines has been lackluster at best this year, but industry leaders say the best is yet to come.
According to CalvinAyre.com, operators in the Philippines are “bullish” on the business in 2015 and beyond. City of Dreams Manila COO Kevin Sim told the Philippine Star the company is “confident” the new integrated resort in Entertainment City will “expand across all segments.”
“Despite being open only a few months, City of Dreams leads the Philippine market in visitation rates,” Sim said. But City of Dreams Manila, a joint venture of Melco Crown Entertainment and Belle Corp., has already instituted layoffs in its first year. That caused Philippine Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago to look at the situation. She said she is worried Melco Crown is “setting a precedent for other employers and business owners to suspend workers when convenient, with utter disregard for these workers’ rights.”
Travellers International Hotel Group, which operates Resorts World Manila, also remains positive about the state of the gaming industry. Owen Cammayo, director for corporate communications at Resorts World, told the Star the company has “concrete and aggressive expansion plans,” including an additional 3,000 hotel rooms by 2019. It will market the new digs to the almost 3 million members of the company’s Resorts World database.
