Eighty persons are jobless tonight after they were fired from the Princess Hotel and Casino in Belize City. Last night the casino sent home 50 employees and today the Princess GLH Hotel gave 30 of their employees the boot. The hotel had planned to send home fifty employees but our information is that they comprised at only thirty.
The company isn't saying much except for a press release which indicates that the cost of doing business in Belize has increased dramatically. The release says that when you add the increased cost of utilities and the increase of their license fee from 4% to 35%, they simply cannot afford it.
Regular operations will continue at the hotel but the casino will be only opened everyday from 12 noon to 4 am. That means it won't be opened 24 hours on weekends.
Combined the Princess Hotel and Casino in the city employed about 280 persons. Eighty are now gone and our sources indicate that more heads might be on the chopping block. The hotel hopes this will send a message to government.
Earlier this week the princess casino announced similar cost cutting measures at the Golden Princess in the Corozal Free Zone.
