171 Austin Workers Laid Off In Austin Amid Coronavirus Woes
AUSTIN, TX — Corrosive economic effects of the coronavirus continue to wreak havoc on local industry, with a collective 117 more workers handed pink slips amid layoffs at Live Nation Entertainment Inc., Scoobeez, Inc. and Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC, according to recent state filings.
The companies notified the Texas Workers Commission of imminent furloughs in adherence to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, a federal law aimed at providing workers at companies with 100 or more employees at least a 60-day notice of layofffs. Upon receiving the latest batch of notifications to regulators, Patch requested accompanying correspondence from the companies that yielded more details into the firms' actions.
Live Nation Enterainment Inc.
The Beverly Hills, California-based events promoter and venue operator alerted Texas regulators of its plans to lay off employees across the state, including 43 in Austin. The company relies on live events as its primary revenue stream of which a dearth now exists amid the stilled economy amid pandemic. In addition to Austin, where the company operates from offices at 1645 E. 6th St., the company also is laying workers off in Houston, Dallas and Pharr, Texas, according to correspondence secured by Patch.
Company officials cited government stay home orders as the basis for the layoffs: "The spread of COVID-19 resulted in states of emergency throughout the U.S. — instructing employers to cease operations and employees to stay at their place of residence unless they work within certain limited sectors of the economy, which did not include the live concert business," company officials wrote. "Because of these government orders, the company’s ability to continue with normal operations in the live concert and ticketing business was impeded and continues to be significantly impacted."
Live Nation officials also told regulators of plans to lay off workers at other cities in which it operates, including at House of Blues in Houston, 1204 Carolina St., where 85 total workers were impacted by furloughs; at House of Blues-Dallas, 2200 N. Lamar St. where 77 workers were impacted; and at the Ticketmaster Concert Center in Pharr, Texas, at 897 Jackson Rd., where 253 workers face layoffs.
Scoobeez Inc.
The California-based on-demand delivery firm alerted the Texas Workers Commission it is laying off 71 workers at its Austin operation at 4616 W. Howard Lane. The layoffs are permanent, officials told state regulators, and the entire facility will be closed as a result of the pandemic. Employees will be out of work by Nov. 1, according to the correspondence.
Avis Budget Car Rental LLC
The car rental firm said it laid off three employees working at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, 3600 Presidential Blvd. "Unfortunately, the financial hardship on the company caused by the pandemic has not improved to the degree we had hoped by this time," officials wrote. "Therefore, the company has made the difficult decision to extend furloughs for some employees and implement layoffs for others at this work location. Furloughs will continue for until further notice. Layoffs will be permanent."
This article originally appeared on the Austin Patch
