An unexpected company is now laying off hundreds in Florida according to a filing filed with the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity.
Westgate Resorts has announced mass layoffs as part of its efforts to streamline operations.
The notice filed with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity details that a total of 357 employees in Orlando will be out of a job by August 30.
The layoffs will affect employees at five different Westgate Resorts locations in Orlando. This decision is part of a broader strategy to optimize the company’s operations and improve overall efficiency.
Westgate Resorts is the latest company to announce significant layoffs in Florida, following closely on the heels of a significant workforce reduction by Florida-based staffing giant UKG.
In a surprising and unfortunate turn of events, UKG laid off approximately 2,200 workers, or 14% of its workforce, on the eve of the July 4 holiday.
Originally planned for next week, the timing of the UKG layoffs left many employees shocked and disheartened, overshadowing their holiday celebrations.
Social media platforms like Reddit were flooded with posts from affected UKG employees expressing their frustration and dismay.
One long-term employee wrote, “Over 19 years and within 18 months to retire. Gone.”
The abrupt and unexpected nature of these layoffs, particularly just before a major holiday, has left many feeling blindsided and betrayed.
The job cuts at Westgate Resorts and UKG highlight a troubling trend of large-scale layoffs affecting Florida’s workforce.
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Other Economy News Today
Applications for unemployment benefits now surge to new highs, a sign that the white-hot labor market is starting to cool off.
First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to 231,000, the highest level since August, per CNN.
Thursday’s data also showed that the number of continuing claims, or applications from people who have filed for unemployment for at least one week, was 1.78 million.
That’s an increase of 17,000 from the prior week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The latest numbers come less than a week after the monthly jobs report showed the US economy added just 175,000 positions in April, less than economists expected and a steep drop-off from prior months.
US employers have now added an average of 245,500 jobs per month, versus 2023’s 251,000-per-month average.
Still, hiring remains strong. Although the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% last month, it’s the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has held under 4%, matching a streak last seen in the late 1960s.
Weekly jobless claims data tends to be volatile but, while one week’s worth of data “does not a trend make,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds.
“We can no longer be sure that calm seas lie ahead for the US economy if today’s weekly jobless claims are any indication.”
“Company layoffs are picking up, hinting at caution on the part of companies as they weigh the outlook for the second half of the year,” he wrote in a note Thursday.
The Federal Reserve has been battling inflation by raising its key lending rate in the hopes of slowing the economy.
While the labor market has so far resisted those efforts, remaining white hot for the past 18 months despite 11 rate hikes from the central bank, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that demand has “cooled from its extremely high level of a couple of years ago.”
Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Economics said in a note Thursday: “We’d need to see at least a month of elevated readings to convince us that the trend really has turned.”
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Also Read: A Giant Company Now Announces Unexpected Layoffs in Virginia
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