Las Vegas Lay-offs Effecting Local Economy

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- As reported by the Las Vegas Sun:  "Many Las Vegas gaming companies have laid off workers or reduced hours to trim their operating budgets.

Typically,
  companies try to avoid layoffs by not replacing workers who leave on their own, requesting that employees voluntarily take time off without pay or go home early when business is slow.

Although companies have been reluctant to quantify such changes, in part because of the difficulty in pinpointing fluid staffing levels, recently issued annual reports shed some light on what has happened to the gaming workforce during this downturn.

Of the gaming giants, MGM Mirage experienced the largest decline in staffing, from 54,700 full-time workers at the end of 2007 to 46,000 at the end of 2008. By comparison, the company's part-time workforce rose, from 12,700 in 2007 to 15,000 last year. Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements fell to 30,000 from 31,300 a year earlier. That will swell by at least 10,000 at year's end, when most of the CityCenter resort complex opens.

Harrah's Entertainment also experienced a large decline. The company's worldwide workforce fell to 80,000 at the end of 2008 from 87,000 the year before. The number of union workers also fell, from 28,000 to 26,000..."