The Radisson Blu Hotel at the Mall of America in Bloomington will lay off 95 employees beginning Nov. 30 due to economic fallout from COVID-19, state officials said Tuesday.
The layoffs are the second round in three weeks for Radisson Blu, which recently announced it would let go 126 workers at its S. 7th Street hotel in downtown Minneapolis.
The newest permanent layoffs in Bloomington will affect both union and nonunion workers. Members of Unite Here Local 17 may be allowed to exercise bumping rights as part of their employment contract.
Workers affected by the layoffs include cooks, bartenders, banquet staffers, servers, marketing, sales and reservation personnel as well as security, accounting and payroll workers.
Radisson Group human resources director Jennifer Wroe said in a letter to the state that the terminations were due to "a catastrophic loss of business for the company's services on a nationwide scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
She noted that travel fell off nationwide as people were urged, and in some cases ordered, to stay home to slow the spread of the virus that has now killed 1 million worldwide, including more than 204,000 in the United States.
The resulting layoffs are the latest taking place across the hospitality industry and beyond as COVID-19 has limited travel and restricted restaurant visits and retail shopping over six months.
Earlier this month, the Mall of America said it is laying off more than 200 workers and might extend the furloughs of another 178 workers. Medtronic, 3M, Surly Brewing and Delta Air Lines have also signaled layoffs, furloughs or other purse-tightening efforts in recent weeks as they digest the full economic impact of the pandemic's hit to product demand, supply-chain deliveries and travel.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has appointed Ready Response Senior Specialist Liz McLoone to lead the layoff assessment efforts at Radisson Blu-MOA.
The agency has services to help workers evaluate their skills and to find new jobs.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
