Penn National Gaming Furloughs 26,000 Employees

Penn National Gaming Inc. announced March 27 that it would implement unpaid furloughs impacting approximately 26,000 employees companywide beginning April 1. The move came in response to "the uncertainty about the duration of the (COVID-19) pandemic, and with no meaningful revenue for the foreseeable future," the company said in a release.

Penn National Gaming Inc., which trades on Nasdaq, owns, operates, or has ownership interests in 41 gaming and racing properties in 19 jurisdictions. Some of these properties also conduct Thoroughbred racing, including Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Penn National Race Course, Zia Park, Sam Houston Race Park, and Retama Park.

The furloughs come two days after another publicly-traded gaming and racing company, Churchill Downs Inc., announced staffing reductions at many of its properties.

"As the global COVID-19 health crisis continues to evolve, we are navigating through this unprecedented time for our company, our industry, and our nation," said Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn National. "With all of our 41 properties in 19 states temporarily shuttered, like many others in the gaming and hospitality sector, we are making difficult decisions to help preserve our liquidity and ensure a brighter future for our company's team members, customers, shareholders, and other key stakeholders."

Penn National said it would maintain medical benefits for furloughed employees through June 30.

"This decision was extremely difficult to make for all of us at Penn," Snowden wrote in a letter to employees that was included in the company release. "Penn National is a family, and we deeply regret the hardship this will place on you and your loved ones. We are extremely motivated and focused on re-opening our properties as soon as it is safe and legal to do so."

The company said it has established a COVID-19 emergency relief fund under the Penn National Gaming Foundation to provide assistance to team members and local relief organizations in our communities. The company said it has already raised over $1.2 million for this fund, including more than $425,000 in personal contributions from Snowden and his senior management team, the company's board of directors, and property general managers. 

Penn National also stated that corporate leadership would take "meaningful" pay cuts and that its board of directors have elected to forgo any of their cash compensation effective April 1 until such time that its properties have substantially returned to normal operations.