HARTFORD, Conn., Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A tribal casino in Connecticut says it will lay off 475 workers by the end of the month, the first layoffs in the establishment's 15-year history.
The owners of the Mohegan Sun say revenues and profits have fallen steadily during the recession as gamblers and resort visitors cut back on their spending, The Hartford Courant reported Tuesday.
Unlike its chief competitor, the Foxwoods Resort Casino, which has laid off thousands of workers since the fall of 2008, Mohegan Sun had managed its workforce through attrition, resisting financial advice to take more aggressive measures, resort executives said.
But they said they see no major rebound for the economy, while advances in gambling technology have made many supervisory jobs redundant.
"This is the last thing we wanted to do," Mitchell Etess, the casino's chief executive, said. "We just have no choice."
The Mohegan Sun Tribal Gaming Authority said revenues are down 10 percent since the end of 2007, and profits have fallen even more sharply.
Etess said the casino began informing Mohegan employees, who are not represented by labor unions, of the layoffs late Monday.
