BRANSON, Mo. (AP) - Silver Dollar City has announced it is preparing to lay off 257 workers amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Branson-area amusement park, which touts 2.2 million visitors each year, informed the Missouri Office of Workforce Development of the layoffs in a letter dated Tuesday, the Springfield News-Leader reports. Showboat Branson Belle workers also will be effected.
“These circumstances were not reasonably foreseeable until recently when the full impact of COVID-19 on our business became clear,” park officials wrote, adding that they hope the furloughs are temporary but don’t know how long they will last.
Park officials who had been preparing to celebrate the attraction’s 60th anniversary described the move in a prepared statement as going into “hibernation mode.”
Minimal park staff will stay on at a salary reduction of up to 50%. And Silver Dollar City’s parent company, Herschend Enterprises’ CEO, Andrew Wexler and Board Chairman Chris Herschend will work without pay until all properties reopen.
The company will pay 100% of premiums for people on its health care plan for the next few months.
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