MGM Springfield is one of the three casinos in Massachusetts. The property opened back in August 2018 and it’s drawing closer to its five-year anniversary with each passing month. However close to this watershed, a new report reveals that the casino is yet to introduce more amenities and hire as many employees as initially agreed with the state.
MGM Springfield Fails to Meet Promised Workforce Number, Says Report
Citing data from an MGM report submitted with the Gaming Commission in Massachusetts in October, MassLive recently revealed that state Rep. Bud L. Williams criticized the property for not meeting hiring the initially agreed 3,000 employees. At the time of the report, MGM Springfield had approximately 1,330 employees. This was far from the initial operator’s goal set at 3,000, Williams said.
MGM argued that the original goal of 3,000 employees was unrealistic. The operator said this was primarily due to the impact of the pandemic and the decrease in travel. At the same time, MGM said it is difficult to find so many workers.
“If they could get 2,500, 2,600, that is what I would like to see. But that’s double where they are now.“
Bud L. Williams, State Rep. in Massachusetts
Yet, Williams deemed the promise of 3,000 employees “lofty” but pointed out that even hiring 2,500 to 2,600 would still have a had a positive impact – more than double the employees the property employs presently. Still, the lawmaker stressed that this means that MGM Springfield would need to double its existing workforce.
The latest report claims that MGM Springfield is also behind when it comes to minority hiring. Initially, the operator said that half of its workforce would be minority members. However, as of Q3, MGM Springfield had only 683 minority members. Numbers submitted to the Gaming Commission point out that the property also did not meet the promise of having women as 50% of its workforce. Instead, as of October, women were 537, or 40% of MGM Springfield’s workforce.
Amenities Missing or Operate in Limited Capacity
Another concern raised by Williams involves MGM Springfield’s missing amenities. Despite reopening after the pandemic, the venue still has shops that are closed, while restaurants and other entertainment venues operate only on weekends. City Councilor Michael Fenton shares Williams’ view and has taken a step further to address the issues and reach out to MGM.
Fenton confirmed he contacted the MGM leadership team and even spoke to MGM Resorts International’s CEO, Bill Hornbuckle. Discussing the issues, Fenton asked Hornbuckle to visit Springfield and try to resolve those issues as soon as possible. At the same time, Fenton said he asked the CEO to address “MGM’s commitment to the city and honor the agreements made per our Host Community Agreement.” According to the City Councilor, Hornbuckle is expected to visit the venue and discuss the issues in January.