RWS depends to a large extent on big spenders from China but in recent months fewer Chinese have been coming to the casino, mainly due to a corruption crackdown by Beijing and the slowdown of China’s economy.
A report in Singapore’s TODAY said the services of about 150 croupiers, 200 supervisors and 25 pit managers had been terminated in recent weeks, either via voluntary retrenchment or termination of services. Most of those affected are believed to be foreigners.
RWS’s casino has about 1,400 croupiers, 700 supervisors and 130 pit managers.
With the VIP gaming business stumbling and net exchange losses on investments ballooning, Genting Singapore, which runs RWS integrated resort, reported an 83 per cent year-on-year plunge in net profit to S$10.8 million in the first quarter to end-March, said the report.
The retrenchment exercise at the 12,000-staff strong RWS is understood to have started in late May this year, with the integrated resort keeping government authorities and unions in the loop.
A retrenchment letter given to those laid off and seen by TODAY stated that they were being “made redundant” because of the difficulties facing the casino businesses.
“In anticipation that the business situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon, we have made a very difficult decision to reduce manpower,” the document said.
An RWS spokesman was quoted as saying: “With the current business environment, it is necessary for RWS to review the headcount in its gaming business so that it can achieve the right size to meet its business needs.”