Friday, Aug. 08, 2008

Hard Rock Park lays off employees

Hard Rock Park laid off 25 to 30 employees earlier this week, the first time the park has resorted to layoffs, a park spokesman said.

Both full- and part-time employees in various areas of the business were laid off, said Jim Olecki, a spokesman with New York-based PR firm Weber Shandwick, which works for the park.

This is the first time the park has laid people off, he said, and described the number laid off as "minuscule." Last week, park executives told The Sun News that the park had only hired 2,000 employees at its peak, instead of the 3,000 they had projected at the beginning of the summer.

For more on Hard Rock Park's troubles, read The Sun News' full report from last weekend.

The park has suffered from a tough economy and low consumer confidence. Vacationers have said in surveys and interviews that they are cutting back on the number of trips they are taking, how long they are staying and how much money they will spend while on vacation.

Olecki said the layoffs were a response to seasonal changes in the business. He also said Hard Rock Park is scheduled to be open past Labor Day and next year, but things might change.

"As we've stated in the past, it's our first season, so we're going to monitor the attendance levels and adjust the schedule in line with demand," Olecki said. "You have a very difficult environment across the board in tourism, so you have that, and we're just going to see. ... We're going to see how attendance is through the latter months and the outer season months."

When asked about layoffs or job reductions in the past, park executives have said they adjust their staffing levels, as many seasonal employers in the Myrtle Beach market do.

Hard Rock Park is a $400 million theme park built on 55 acres off of U.S. 501. The park opened in April. The park licenses the Hard Rock brand name from Hard Rock Cafe International.

Check back with MyrtleBeachOnline.com for more on this breaking news story.