Workers continue to flee from Atlantic City as New Jersey’s gambling hub sheds more casino jobs. As per the recent press reports of the Atlantic City workers will continue to flight out of Atlantic City and this trend will continue especially after the closure of the Trump Taj Mahal. This is the fifth such casino closing in three years leaving many casino workers out of a job. As per the latest reports shared by Stockton University’s South Jersey Economic Review which shows that the total employment in the country has slightly declined to 350 jobs for the first half of 2016. It also stated that since the first half quarter of 2014, employment in the casino hotel industry has dipped by about 4,500 jobs or 20 percent total in the city’s metropolitan area.
Casino employees are flying out or fleeing for a new MGM casino resort in the Washington D.C. area as shared by CEO of MGM. In a recent article published in Washington Business Journal quoting CEO James Murren suggests employees from Atlantic City have been applying to work at the new casino resort, dubbed MGM National Harbor, which is scheduled to open in December in Maryland.
Murren said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday – “It’s not going to help the underperforming properties, that’s for sure,”
“What we’re seeing happen is many of the dealers and employees are applying to work at National Harbor.”
Murren’s comment came just after the owners of Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort announced that it will close after Labor Day weekend. As per this announcement almost 2,500 employees are set to be laid off on Oct.10.
As per a Stockton economics professor Oliver Cooke’s Summer 2016 edition of the SJER, “Atlantic City’s economy continues to struggle under the weight of the ongoing restructuring taking place in its gaming industry and the related spill over effects on the local economy, including Atlantic City’s fiscal health.”
“While most current gaming operators have benefited (in market share terms) from the industry’s recent consolidation, the report finds that the restructuring process remains incomplete.”
This is after the author indicated that he has not taken Tin his study Taj Mahal’s layoff into the account. Taj Mahal’s owner Car Icahn lost patience and reportedly $100m with the venue’s striking union workers. Earlier during July 4 weekend local 54 workers walked off the job to protest Icahn scrapping their healthcare and retirement benefits when he assumed ownership of this bankrupt property in 2014.
