Impacts of the Six Flags Merger on Kings Dominion

[Fenrihr]

Don't know if it helps, but we hire seasonal (or part-time) staff where I work. Often they work 30 hours a week, but my boss had to track hours very strictly. I think they were limited to 1500ish hours a year.

Amusement industry probably has different rules though.

 

[Mushroom]

While one interpretation of this news is that staffing levels will suffer with KD nearly eliminating full-time front-line employees, another possible interpretation is that hiring front-line employees full-time (which KD only started doing a few years ago) may have never helped staffing the way the park hoped.

As I understand it, the idea behind hiring front-line employees full-time was to reduce turnover, callouts, etc. Perhaps that strategy ended up not alleviating those issues as much as intended. It could be the case that the full-time idea never really moved the needle, and instead merely added to the park’s labor expenses at times of year when the park wasn’t even open.

If that’s the case, then terminating the full-time experiment allows them to invest their labor dollars into more effective strategies for staffing the park when it’s open, rather than pointlessly burning that budget while it’s closed.

To be clear, I have no data to say this is the case; I’m just floating it as what might possibly be happening. Anecdotally, the park still seems to have struggled with staffing for the past few years, so it’s certainly possible that the park’s numbers bear this theory out.

 

[outhikn]

Good point @Mushroom, as the topic of KD hiring the extra full-time staff a few years ago certainly seems relevant here - where from my (brief) discussions with park management:

• In prepping for the year-round operations (starting with the 2023 season), the park opened up many new full-time positions.
• The park actively filled those positions, assuming they would operate year-round indefinitely going forward.
• Corporate abolished the year-round operations in late 2023; even though park management saw value in continuing it.
• The park was able to keep all the full-time staff they brought on for those new positions. But once any of those staff left, those positions could only be filled with seasonal or part-time labor.

So I would personally hope these layoffs are primarily for the trimming of those extra full-time positions, created especially for the year-round operations. And hopefully allow the park to focus better on filling seasonal and part-time positions moving forward.

 

[mtorange]

I’m surprised this hasn’t made it here yet. Thoughts? This was posted in the Roller Coasters Enthusiasts Club group, also.

 

[numberonetumbilidefender]

Laid-off Kings Dominion worker voices frustration after losing their job: 'This has caused panic'

While park officials would not confirm to CBS 6 the number of people who lost their jobs, they said the staff had grown larger than the park's business needs.

www.wtvr.com

 

[Bring Back Questor 87]

Laid-off Kings Dominion worker voices frustration after losing their job: 'This has caused panic'

While park officials would not confirm to CBS 6 the number of people who lost their jobs, they said the staff had grown larger than the park's business needs.

www.wtvr.com

I’m sorry, but what in the actual fuck is happening? Why??

Needs context in every sense of the word. This is by no means normal or acceptable if true to form, and my heart aches for these people if so.

 

[Zachary]

I’m sorry, but what in the actual fuck is happening? Why??

$$$

The new Six Flags made enormous promises to shareholders regarding the cost savings that would be achieved by the merger. If they don't find a way to hit those numbers, they're cooked, as the kids would say.

Obviously the merger never should have been allowed, but that's over and done—so now we all get to pay the (highly predicable) price.

 

[bwick29]

WTF...

I ditched BGW a few years ago because their staffing was so atrocious that it took longer to get a shitty plate of sausages than it did to ride the newest unthemed-coaster-in-a-field. KD was the answer to that void, but now I'm not sure. Call it unfair to use the old BGW wound against KD, but it still stings.
Almost did the annual renewal (our family spends a LOT at parks every year) and am glad I didn't. Might downgrade everything to just gold passes at first and see what happens.

I really hope this doesn't turn into us needing to drive to Pigeon Forge for competent park operations...

 

[cschnizer]

Some of this sounds too disturbing to be true. The season will have no staff, no rides open??Anaconda and Berserker aren’t the only ones closing?? Half the rides aren’t safe?! (Hold up. Does this also mean half the rides aren’t safe from the new Six Flags purge or just they aren’t safe to operate?)

 

[Zachary]

Some of this sounds too disturbing to be true.

It is. It's a super hyperbolic post that is clearly the result of (to be fair, reasonable) personal grievance. Take it all with an unhealthy dose of salt.

The season will have no staff, no rides open??

Yeah, obviously a massive overstatement.

Anaconda and Berserker aren’t the only ones closing??

This may be true.

Half the rides aren’t safe?!

Obviously false.

 

[mtpelepele]

Layoffs suck for everyone, except upper management and shareholders. But you do have to take into account that while the methods used sound cruel, they are often necessary. You cannot give notice. Telling everyone that they will be laid off in two weeks basically gives pissed off employees two weeks to do as much damage to a company as they can. Infrastructure and property is destroyed. Important data is deleted. Vital passwords get changed to random crap. Do not take me as agreeing with why they laid off these folks. I, along with all of you, have no idea if they had a good reason or not. Just wanted to put a bit of explanation as to why the "you're fired meeting, get your stuff while i watch, hand me your badge, and I'll escort you out" process is done.

 

[Gavin]

Depending on the situation, that is illegal. Also, a lot of companies will payout a severance in-lieu of a notice.

WARN Act Compliance Assistance

www.dol.gov

Laying off staff does suck, doesn't mean KD had to let them go in the manor they did.

 

[bwick29]

Depending on the situation, that is illegal. Also, a lot of companies will payout a severance in-lieu of a notice.

WARN Act Compliance Assistance

www.dol.gov

Laying off staff does suck, doesn't mean KD had to let them go in the manor they did.

The fact that there were no advance notices means that the total layoff count was under 50 heads.

 

[John]

Would Virginia being a right-to-work state have any effect on the potential legality of all this?

 

[horsesboy]

Layoffs suck for everyone, except upper management and shareholders. But you do have to take into account that while the methods used sound cruel, they are often necessary. You cannot give notice. Telling everyone that they will be laid off in two weeks basically gives pissed off employees two weeks to do as much damage to a company as they can. Infrastructure and property is destroyed. Important data is deleted. Vital passwords get changed to random crap. Do not take me as agreeing with why they laid off these folks. I, along with all of you, have no idea if they had a good reason or not. Just wanted to put a bit of explanation as to why the "you're fired meeting, get your stuff while i watch, hand me your badge, and I'll escort you out" process is done.

Having unfortunately been the part of two separate layoffs in my life these tactics are actually pretty standard hell the last time it happened the meeting to inform us it was happening was announced only for us to see it splashed all over local media two hours before the meeting. part of that is the publicly traded companies are required to file certain notices before doing it.

Depending on the situation, that is illegal. Also, a lot of companies will payout a severance in-lieu of a notice.

WARN Act Compliance Assistance

www.dol.gov

Laying off staff does suck, doesn't mean KD had to let them go in the manor they did.

All info that I currently have says that the lay off while significant to the park fall well below the WARN notice requirements. I have been in the situation before myself and it sucks but I personally don't see anything illegal or unethical in what I have seen and how it was handled.

I will add that my understanding is there were severance packages given to all laid off employees that while certainly not grand are above what had to be offered.

Would Virginia being a right-to-work state have any effect on the potential legality of all this?

KD employees were not unionized nor to the vest of my knowledge has there ever been an attempt to do so. So no. That doesn't mean that other virginia laws or lack of them didn't favor KD over the employees.

 

[Chungulatron]

Yeah, that sucks enough to make me not want a season pass this year…enjoy rapterra folks, I’ll go back to riding mountain bikes.

 

[warfelg]

A company putting dollars over people. Shocker.

 

[GAcoaster]

With the information that the park beefed up full time staffing for year round operations but have discontinued those operations, the lay offs make more sense. I’d worry more if we heard the same scenario played out company wide, but it really seems like a case of one park making adjustments based on current realities. The people who worked there really should have realized something like this was coming.

I have been laid off by an employer and I know it’s never easy, but the scenario presented of being called into a meeting suddenly and given the news abruptly is really just the way this works. You can’t give notice or people tend to sabotage the company as revenge. I understand the hurt they feel, but there isn’t much else that can happen.

All the gloom and doom is overblown— they didn’t lay off the entire staff, just a some positions they see as no longer needed as “full time”. They’ll probably end up filling many of the same jobs with “seasonal” hires so they don’t have to pay benefits. It’s not great, but it’s the way of seasonal theme parks to run with minimal full time employees.

 

[horsesboy]

With the information that the park beefed up full time staffing for year round operations but have discontinued those operations, the lay offs make more sense. I’d worry more if we heard the same scenario played out company wide, but it really seems like a case of one park making adjustments based on current realities. The people who worked there really should have realized something like this was coming.

I have been laid off by an employer and I know it’s never easy, but the scenario presented of being called into a meeting suddenly and given the news abruptly is really just the way this works. You can’t give notice or people tend to sabotage the company as revenge. I understand the hurt they feel, but there isn’t much else that can happen.

All the gloom and doom is overblown— they didn’t lay off the entire staff, just a some positions they see as no longer needed as “full time”. They’ll probably end up filling many of the same jobs with “seasonal” hires so they don’t have to pay benefits. It’s not great, but it’s the way of seasonal theme parks to run with minimal full time employees.

What does concern me is the multiple reports some of which appear to have been confirmed since mainstream local media has reported it that at least some employees had been there for over 10 years. It was less then three years ago that KD expanded their full time staff for year round ops and only about 8 years ago that they started Winterfest so at least some of these employees and positions predate these expansions.

 

[Mushroom]

What does concern me is the multiple reports some of which appear to have been confirmed since mainstream local media has reported it that at least some employees had been there for over 10 years. It was less then three years ago that KD expanded their full time staff for year round ops and only about 8 years ago that they started Winterfest so at least some of these employees and positions predate these expansions.

Unless we read different reports, I didn’t see any indication that some of the longer-tenured full-time employees who were laid off were necessarily full-time for their entire career at the park. It seemed to me that many had worked at the park seasonally for years, became full-time a few years ago when that opportunity became available, and now are being told they need to re-apply as season employees again.

My heart goes out to these employees — I’m sure I once knew some of them, and I have a feeling many people dreamed of having a career at the park or in the industry. While it remains to be seen whether this will have any impact on the guest experience (negative or positive), there’s no denying that this sucks for these employees. I hope they land on their feet.