KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 — In a further troubling sign of the hospitality sector's dire straits during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, one of the city's most notable hotels is now forced to let go of some of its employees.
The Star reported Hilton KL as taking steps to remain afloat by offering its personnel options for the retention programme and retrenchment.
In a letter dated on Tuesday (April 29), the hotel's management said a group of team members will be placed in the programme, where financial aid of RM600 a month will be provided for one to six months.
Those who apply to be part of the programme but are unsuccessful will instead be placed on unpaid leave, while several more others will end up retrenched per the Last In-First Out (LIFO) process.
Hilton KL employees were urged to apply for claims from the Employee Insurance System via the Social Security Organisation. Employees who do not end up in the programme or retrenched will remain working under the terms of the latest signed agreement which sees salaries slashed between 20 to 50 per cent.
The Malaysian Association of Hotels' recent survey has revealed that up to 15 per cent of hotels in the country may be facing shut down due to the pandemic. Several have done so by last month or by the end of this month, including the Syeun Hotel, Tower Regency Hotel, and Kinta Riverfront Hotel and Suites, all in Ipoh, Perak.
