Companies in region lay off, furlough 5,000 employees

An analysis of recently released state data on layoffs and furloughs reveals at least 5,000 employees in the region have lost their job due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Companies that have made the cuts, based on Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices filed with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, range from a dental device manufacturer to several luxury resorts to car dealerships. Specific entities on the list, which covers notices filed from March 23 to April 23, include Palmetto-based entertainment production giant Feld, which confirmed 1,464 layoffs and the YMCA of the Suncoast in Clearwater, which posted 1,104 layoffs.

The layoffs at Feld were previously announced, but the WARN notice adds some details, including a breakdown of work: the letter states 497 people were let go in the corporate office, while 967 employees were part of the travelling shows. “The speed and breadth of the pandemic's spread, the resultant widespread government-mandated closures of public gatherings (banning our shows), and the related travel restrictions in response thereto were unforeseeable,” the company says in the WARN letter. The Feld letter also refers to the job cuts as layoffs, not furloughs, saying “the government is unable to say at this time when it would be willing to allow the resumption of public gatherings, or if so, whether they could be larger than current limits ranging from 10-250 people.”