Marriott to lay off hundreds of workers in October

Number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a still-elevated 881,000 last week

Marriott is planning to lay off hundreds of workers in Maryland in October in response to the coronavirus-fueled decline in travel.

Effective Oct. 23, 673 employees at Marriott’s Bethesda headquarters will be out of work, the company confirmed to FOX Business.

CORONAVIRUS LEADS MARRIOTT TO FURLOUGH EMPLOYEES WITHOUT PAY

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MAR MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL INC. 256.43 -4.14 -1.59%

It had noted the layoffs in a Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed last week, according to the Department of Labor's website. WARN notices are intended to provide substantial notice of at least 60 days to employees prior to any business closure or mass layoffs.

Marriott declined to offer any further statements regarding future layoffs. However, the company noted that it anticipates a "significant portion" of the employees who are currently on furlough to be back to work by late September.

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In March, when the pandemic first prompted worldwide lockdown orders and travel restrictions to stem the spread of the virus, Marriott International Inc. started to close hotels, putting tens of thousands of employees on furlough, The Wall Street Journal reported.

US EMPLOYERS HIRE 1.8M DESPITE NEW COVID-19 SHUTDOWNS

The recent layoffs, however, indicated that a second wave of layoffs may be hitting American workers as cases continue to surge around the nation.

The number of laid-off Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a still-elevated 881,000 last week, evidence that the viral pandemic keeps forcing many businesses to slash jobs.

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The latest figures, released Thursday by the Labor Department, suggest that nearly six months after the eruption of the coronavirus, the economy is still struggling to sustain a recovery and rebuild a job market that was devastated by the recession.

There are roughly 4,000 employees at the hotel's Bethesda headquarters, according to Marriott.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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