The monopoly casino operator in the capital of Cambodia has confirmed in a Monday filing the lay offs at NagaWorld and the pay cuts, the latter effective since March.

NagaCorp said these were “proactive measures” to manage the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as the casino resort has been closed since early March.

“We launched a rationalization program to improve cost efficiency, which will impact some of our employees,” stated the Hong Kong listed company.

“We believe that these changes and other changes we have made as part of our Covid-19 strategy will help with the quick return to business normality and help deliver continued financial stability over the long term,” it added.

In Monday’s filing, the company said it would provide affected employees “with enhanced termination compensation over and above payments required by the applicable Cambodian laws,” in order to “assist their transition into other career or business interests.”

Talks of “potential lay-offs” at NagaWorld had been confirmed in April. At the time, a Cambodian labour group representative revealed that more than 1,300 jobs could be at risk.

NagaCorp also said it was implementing other measures to minimize cash expenditure. These include: reducing payroll expenses by limiting staff on site, and reducing employee pay since March 2021; scaling back hotel and food and beverage operations; and closing some of the facilities to reduce spending on utilities.

Editing by Rachel Hu