Layoffs begin at Casino

The number of employees at Casino Sault Ste. Marie is beginning to shrink.

“I know there are some staff reductions taking place today at the casino in Sault Ste. Marie,” said Rob Mitchell, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment communications and public affairs director for eastern Canada, speaking to SooToday Monday.

“I know a number of employees are taking us up on a voluntary exit incentive plan,” Mitchell said.

However, there are other Casino Sault Ste. Marie employees not leaving voluntarily.

“I know there are some other employees who are being laid off,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell, however, could not provide specific numbers as to how many Casino Sault Ste. Marie employees are leaving voluntarily, neither how many are being laid off.

“I can’t confirm the number (at this point).”

“This is part and parcel of an ongoing review of all our operations across the board to find efficiencies and improve customer service, and as a consequence of that, because we’ve been investing in a lot of automation in terms of a new gaming management system and improved surveillance and so on, this has in some cases impacted staffing and there’s also been changes in hours of operation and that has had some impact on our staffing,” Mitchell said.

As reported earlier by SooToday, Gateway sent letters to Casino Sault Ste. Marie staff eligible to take voluntary exit packages in April as part of a ‘right-sizing’ operation.

“It wasn’t unique to Sault Ste. Marie. We offered it at other locations (where Gateway operates),” Mitchell told SooToday in May.

“The VIP (voluntary exit package) wasn’t absolutely contingent on years of experience. It was open to employees, if they wanted to take a voluntary incentive package they could,” Mitchell said Monday.

Gateway, of Burnaby, B.C., was announced in 2016 by Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) as the service provider for OLG’s North and Southwest Gaming Bundles, which includes the Sault’s casino.

In May, there were 270 employees at the local casino, which Gateway took over in 2017.