Crown Casino to cut 1000 jobs in restructure

Crown Resorts chief executive Ciaran Carruthers has revealed up to 1000 people will be made redundant in a major restructuring following a lack of customers in its Melbourne, Sydney and Perth casinos due to stricter regulations and the cost-of living-crisis.

Carruthers revealed in an interview with this masthead last week that the cuts were looming, but wrote to staff to confirm the changes on Monday morning, as reported by The Australian Financial Review. Crown employs more than 20,000 people and is one of the biggest employers in the states in which it operates.

The redundancies will reduce the company’s overall headcount by 4 per cent and most of the affected roles will be based in the group’s flagship Melbourne casino precinct, while Perth will be the least affected.

The cuts will largely be split between its corporate and casino divisions, as well as in the remediation team that was bolstered while the business worked to regain its suitability to operate in Melbourne and Sydney.

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“The challenges at Crown reflect greatly reduced foreign tourism, a sharp decline in local workers in the city centres, and restrictions on gaming play in Sydney and Melbourne,” Carruthers said.

“We are committed to our regulatory obligations and ongoing transformation, including Crown PlaySafe, Melbourne and Sydney transformation plans and ongoing remediation in Perth.”

Private equity group Blackstone bought Crown for $8.9 billion in 2022 after Crown was disgraced by two royal commissions into its operations that found extensive anti-money laundering and counterterrorism failings across the business, first raised by an investigation by this masthead and 60 Minutes.

Crown regained suitability to operate its casinos in Melbourne and Sydney this month, and is now charged with ensuring the business is sustainable economically.