Last week, Crown Resorts CEO Ciaran Carruthers spoke with the Sydney Morning Herald on how the company was looking to ensure its commercial viability long term and how restructuring changes that could result in job cuts were being considered. As reported by the Australian Financial Review, Crown staff were officially informed earlier today that, indeed, a total of 1000 individuals will lose their job positions in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. Since around 20,000 people work for Crown Resorts at the time of writing, this means that 4% of its total workforce will be laid off.
According to the Australian Financial Review’s sources, half the cuts will leave individuals belonging to the company’s corporate division without a job, while the rest will involve casino staff. Employees who were hired to work on Crown’s remediation efforts will also be among those who will need to look for new employment following the restructuring.
It should be noted that when it comes to Crown Sydney, no employees will be laid off as all job cuts will be tied to corporate. In addition, Perth will be least affected by this restructuring measure, seeing as the economic landscape of the gambling industry in Western Australia is far better than the situation in Sydney and Melbourne’s respective states.
Crown Resorts’ Future Looks Promising Despite Setbacks
Crown’s economic turmoil is the result of a number of factors, starting with notable misconducts that were first uncovered in 2021 and that led to Crown facing significant regulatory consequences in the form of licensing issues and fines. Most notably, 2023 saw the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) issue Crown Resorts an AU$450 million fine due to major money laundering violations.
Australia’s gambling sector has also undergone significant changes that are partly to blame. Mr Carruthers specifically pointed to “greatly reduced foreign tourism” and the new responsible gaming measures recently implemented in Crown Sydney and the casino in Melbourne as being factors that have affected the company’s finances negatively. He did stress the following, however:
“We are committed to our regulatory obligations and ongoing transformation, including Crown PlaySafe, Melbourne and Sydney transformation plans and ongoing remediation in Perth.”
Moreover, it should be emphasised that the company is on the path to recovery. In 2022, Blackstone Inc. acquired Crown Resorts for AU$8.9 billion after several prior attempts had failed, and during the interview with the Sydney Morning Herald last week, Mr Carruthers claimed that this played a crucial role in helping the company get back on its feet.
Earlier this month, Crown announced that its Sydney branch could officially retain its unconditional licence as mandated by the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC), and a month earlier, Crown Melbourne also received the regulatory approval of its local gambling watchdog, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC). Both were the result of Crown Resorts’ impressive remediation and transformation efforts, which led to money laundering being dealt with and the company’s corporate structure in both branches being significantly improved. As for Crown Perth, its remediation plan results will be submitted by early 2025 if all goes well. The cut to job positions has also been undertaken with the goal of helping Crown Resorts improve its financial situation.
- Author
Daniel Williams
