Baha Mar yesterday laid off 190 employees from the Crystal Palace, which it plans to turn into a training facility.
"Baha Mar has ensured that it has discharged all contractual obligations toward the affected workers," the company said in a statement released shortly after workers received their termination letters.
As they trickled out of the hotel, some of the laid-off employees had tears in their eyes.
Some told The Nassau Guardian that they had worked at the property for more than 20 years.
Executives of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) were on property not long after learning of the redundancies.
Union President Nicole Martin said they received a notice about the layoffs yesterday morning.
"For the union, this is a big issue," she said.
"We don't have a concern about what they want to do with this facility, but there is a heads of agreement that we have had plenty issues with in the past.
"...It says they are to maintain the level of employment and add to that number. They are also supposed to redeploy workers who are currently Crystal Palace employees... These workers should be redeployed."
Martin added, "In my opinion, this (the termination exercise) is very avoidable, and we are going to at this point call on our members everywhere to help us, because this is not going to go down like the 140; I'm sorry."
Martin was referring to the 140 workers Baha Mar terminated from the Crystal Palace (Wyndham Nassau Resort) early last year, saying that decreased business volume was the driving factor.
Union officials met yesterday with Prime Minister Perry Christie to discuss the latest job losses.
Martin did not say specifically what she meant by calling on other members "to help us".
She said only, "The union has other members and we can call on them for assistance at any time."
The union president also highlighted the likely impact of the job losses.
"Imagine people who are working finding it very difficult to make ends meet, so if I am working and I am finding it difficult, imagine if I no longer have a job," Martin said.
"We're not only talking about [190] people, but we're talking about [190] families and in those families a minimum of two people, so there's a serious ripple effect at a time when this resort, and the company that owns it is expanding.
"How do you expand and put people out of work?"
One of the laid off workers, Kayla Green, who worked at the hotel for 16 years in the engineering department, said resort officials locked the entrance to the hotel before they handed out letters.
Green, a union shop steward, said, "I reflected on the 140 who they made redundant [last year]. Nothing surprises me with this company. I just thought they would have done it a little bit different.
"I expected it, I saw the signs, but I thought they would have done it in a more humane way."
She said she loved working at Crystal Palace.
Green said while she has no children, she has a lot of expenses.
She said she already had two interviews and hopes Baha Mar will re-employ her.
Baha Mar said Crystal Palace will be closed to paying guests as previously planned.
Thousands of hotel, food and beverage, security and other personnel will be trained there in advance of Baha Mar's opening scheduled for late spring 2015, the company said.
Baha Mar said approximately 100 Crystal Palace employees have already been invited to accept positions at the Melia Nassau Beach Hotel and Baha Mar.
More than 350 new casino employees have been in training classes at the Crystal Palace since July 2014, and will complement the existing casino staff, it added.
The Crystal Palace site will serve as a live setting to train more than 800 graduates of the Leadership Development Institute and 600 pre-selected high school and college students to the highest luxury service standards to prepare for new jobs at Baha Mar, the company said.
"All Baha Mar employees are being held to the highest standards of performance and service that will distinguish Baha Mar as a global destination resort.
"We offered extensive additional training to all Crystal Palace employees to educate them to the luxury service standards that will be key to the new Baha Mar brand and image.
"We are further investing in training literally thousands of future employees at the Crystal Palace facility, and we encourage all current and potential Baha Mar employees to strive for growth and professional development."

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