Hotel Layoffs Bottom Out

LOS ANGELES— About a third of unionized U.S. hotel workers— about 120,000 people— have lost their jobs nearly one month into the travel crisis that has swept the industry, but officials said on Tuesday that most payroll cuts are now complete. Since the crisis began September 11, more than one-third of the 260,000 hotel and restaurant workers represented by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union have lost their jobs, said spokesman Tom Snyder. In a sign that the situation is stabilizing, he said, no major new layoffs have been reported since the latest survey was done late last week. “If you can make it a positive in that a thirdof our people are out of work but it hasnt gotten worse, then I suppose thats something to grab onto, Snyder said. The HERE union represents an estimated one-tenth of the nations hotel employees. Major companies that have laid off employees nationwide include Hilton Hotels Corp. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Snyder said. Starwood has said it is laying off about 10,000 people or 23 percent of its worldwide work force, while Hilton has not made any official announcements. The nations other major operator, Marriott International, has not announced any system wide job cuts to date as a result of the travel crisis. However, the company is targeting a 10% reduction in headcount at its headquarters, said spokesman Roger Conner. Among individual markets, Washington, D.C. has been one of the hardest hit, with about 41% of HERE workers losing their jobs. Other hard-hit markets include New York, where 37% of HERE members have been laid off, and San Francisco, where 34% of members are out of work.