Six Flags, Universal Cut Park Employees

Amusement park operator Six Flags Entertainment Corp., which owns Magic Mountain in Valencia, will lay off 240 employees in an effort to shed 10 percent of its full-time workforce, the company said in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission Tuesday.

Theme parks have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Most Six Flags parks, including Magic Mountain, have been closed since March.

Elsewhere in the industry, Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City has permanently cut more than 1,300 staffers and temporarily laid off more than 800 employees in L.A. County since July 1, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which cited Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notices filed with the California Employment Development Department.

And in late September, the parks division of Burbank entertainment and media giant Walt Disney Co., which includes the Disneyland resort in Anaheim, reduced its staff count by 28,000, a result of “the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business,” Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro said in a statement. He added the impact is “exacerbated in California by the state’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen.”
 
Gov. Gavin Newsom last week said: “We don’t anticipate in the immediate term any of these larger parks opening until we see more stability in terms of the data,” referring to COVID-19 cases. “We feel there’s no hurry to put out guidelines, and we continue to work with the industry.”