MANILA—Victoria Court is retrenching workers, as the hotel and motel chain saw its operations disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis, the brand's chiefs said.
In an undated leaked video addressing employees, Angelina King said that while Victoria Court branches have been accepting OFWs, BPO workers and returning maritime workers, “it is still not enough for the business to sustain itself and take care of all of us.”
“We all have to go into survival mode. It is better for us to prepare for this now rather than ignore it,” King said in the video.
Atticus King, Angelina’s brother, said in a Facebook video that, as his sister plans to close some branches, he has decided to “do a deep retrenchment.”
“Anj and I share the brand but have separate management groups,” Atticus said.
“I cannot speak on her behalf but my group is not closing and instead we opted to do a deep retrenchment to try to keep the lights on until things revert back to normal.”
Meanwhile, Angelina said the company, or at least her side of it, will be preparing retirement and retrenchment packages to help workers who will lose their jobs.
“I want to let you know that we value all your hard work and loyalty that you have given during my management and I really wish there was another way to go about this,” said Angelina, who promised retrenched workers that the company will rehire them if operations resume and that they “will be the first ones that we call back.”
ABS-CBN News sought out Angelina and Victoria Court for comment, but did not receive a response at the time this story was posted.
According to the company’s website, Victoria Court operates 10 drive-in hotels, but Angelina did not say if all of the company’s branches will close or just some of them.
Hotels and restaurants through the country have been reeling from the measures implemented by authorities to check the spread of COVID-19.
Victoria Court to retrench workers, COVID-19 crisis batters hotel business, Angelina King, virus impact on economy, unemployment, job losses