COVID economy: Bay Area hotel, store, fitness center job cuts widen

An ominous spate of new job cuts planned in the Bay Area could foreshadow a slump -- or worse -- in the region's economy, which has been reeling for 10 months from an array of side effects unleashed by the coronavirus.

A coronavirus surge and more government shutdowns of businesses have unleashed a fresh bout of Bay Area job cuts, affecting the hotel, fitness, and retail sectors and delivering new blows to the region’s battered workforce.

The ominous spate of new job cuts planned in the Bay Area could foreshadow a slump — or worse — in the region’s economy, which has been reeling for 10 months from an array of side effects unleashed by the coronavirus.

Economists have warned that renewed business shutdowns ordered by state and local government officials to combat the deadly bug could also trigger more layoffs in the Bay Area. The latest readings on the job markets in the Bay Area and California are due out this week.

High-profile resorts and hotels have formally notified state labor officials of layoffs. These include hotels and resorts in the North Bay Wine Country, a resort and hotel on the San Mateo coast, a hotel in downtown San Jose, and a hotel in Emeryville.

Plus, an indoor sports complex in south San Jose sketched out layoff plans. And a retailer in San Francisco has decided to shut its doors permanently.

Among the latest job cuts revealed in official notices to the state Employment Development Department:

— Auberge du Soleil, hotel and resort, Rutherford in Napa County, 159 jobs. The hotel closed on Jan. 4. “The hotel hopes that such layoffs will be temporary,” the hotel stated in the WARN notice. “It is possible the layoffs could end up being permanent.” An opening date was unknown.

— Ritz-Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay, 138 jobs. The hotel hopes the job cuts and furloughs will be temporary. “IN California, brand new stay-at-home orders and other governmental mandates, effective in early December, have led to an immediate, significant, and unforeseeable downturn in the location’s already decimated business,” Lisa Krone, director of human resources, wrote in the hotel’s WARN notice.

— The Lodge at Sonoma, Sonoma, 123 jobs. “The increase in governmental restrictions in order to contain the spread of the virus has impacted the company’s business, causing this reduction,” wrote Jill Strauss, director of human resources with hotel owner Sage Hospitality Group.

— Silvercreek Sportsplex in south San Jose, 86 jobs. “The company is unable to predict the type of services that it will be able to provide in the future, the number of clients that the company will be able to serve under the county’s future guidelines, or the actual number of clients willing to utilize Sportsplex or ClubSport once it re-opens,” LSI-Silvercreek, the owner of the complex, stated.

— Hotel De Anza, downtown San Jose, 21 jobs. “With a significant reduction in our business in a rapidly evolving situation, we have to make painful choices that would have seemed unthinkable just a short time ago,” hotel general manager Craig Harris wrote in the WARN notice.

— Aramark, which provides food services as well as facilities and uniform services, decided to lay off 69 workers in Concord. “Concord Pavilion recently informed us that it does not anticipate reopening for business in the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 global pandemic,” Aramark’s human resources department told the EDD.

— Marshalls will close its store at 760 Market St. in San Francisco. The closure will be permanent and effective Jan. 30. The store closure will eliminate 84 jobs.

— Courtyard by Marriott is cutting 85 jobs in Emeryville, Courtyard by Marriott is cutting 57 jobs in South San Francisco, and Residence Inn by Marriott is eliminating 33 jobs in South San Francisco.

The problems in the hotel sector appear to more severe than ever, warned Alan Reay, president of Irvine-based Atlas Hospitality Group, which tracks the California lodging market.

“It’s actually gotten worse because of the complete lockdown of hotels that we have in California,” Reay said. “For a few months in the summer, things seemed to open up. But since the spike in COVID cases, hotels are getting locked down again.”