The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

SEVERAL of Baha Mar’s workers yesterday voiced concerns of job security in the aftermath of the resort’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the United States, which they said leaves uncertainty over their futures.

On Monday, a press statement from Baha Mar CEO Sarkis Izmirlian not only confirmed financial troubles, but said it was possible the $3.5bn resort could see workforce reductions if executives could not come to an agreement with its lender.

In the meantime, Mr Izmirlian assured employees that they would receive wages for the next three weeks.

The employees, who spoke to The Tribune on the condition of anonymity, said there were too many questions rather than answers as a result of this turn of events.

Fighting back tears, a single mother of two employed with the resort said she finally began to feel that her life was making a turn around after having been unemployed for the last two years.

“It is not easy having two children who look up to you to provide for them,” she said.

“I was brought on to Baha Mar in March and I was happy. I was happy because I had not been working for a very long time. This was now my opportunity to provide for my children. No mother wants to know her children don’t have what they need.

“So it was a huge disappointment to learn of the bankruptcy and that they could only guarantee wages for the next three weeks. So I have a short time to figure out what I will do.”

Another worker said he felt disrespected by the resort after receiving only an email to serve notice that all staff were to remain at home indefinitely. With no promise of long-term security, he said waiting for Baha Mar to announce its next move is not an option.

“As of today, I sent resumes out,” the employee attached to Baha Mar’s casino said. “I won’t be one of those persons who will sit back and wait. To be honest the news took us all by surprise on Monday. We really expected for someone in management or the executives to meet with us on that day to explain to us what was happening, but instead we got an email.”

He expressed disappointment in the direction this situation has gone, however he said he would remain hopeful Baha Mar will eventually open and fully operate.

A former banker who resigned to take up a job at Baha Mar further added that he had been saving for the last three months in the event of an emergency. However, he said there were some who were not in the same position.

He said: “I don’t have children. It is just me to look after. So I could save here and there. But what about the people with children, school fees to pay and school supplies to buy come August and mortgages to pay to the bank? I don’t know what will happen to them. I can only say look for something else in the meantime.”

In a letter to employees on Monday, Mr Izmirlian revealed that while the resort and its affiliates had received court authorisation to continue payroll, which court documents state averages $7.5m per month, it is unclear whether it will be able to reach an acceptable agreement with its lender.

He explained that if such an agreement could not be met, the cash strapped resort will be pushed to make “extremely difficult decisions” that include reductions to the workforce.

However, he urged Baha Mar workers not to give up in the face of repeated delays, which he said were caused by the general contractor, China Construction America, and the resulting loss of revenue that put the project on a path to declaring bankruptcy.

In a bit of good news for the resort, yesterday a Delaware judge approved Baha Mar’s request to begin tapping into $80m in financing to keep the resort on track for opening while it undergoes bankruptcy proceedings.

The judge also signed off on Baha Mar’s motions to pay “$4.5m to employees for wages and benefits” and to refund “customer payments like deposits on condominiums and vacations,” according to the Wall Street Journal.