The announcement came on Wednesday after the company filed Form 8-K with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing reveals that Bally’s plans to reduce its operating costs and boost the profitability of its North American Interactive segments.
Redundancies a Part of a Restructuring Plan
The announced restructuring plan involves the reduction of the current North American Interactive segment workforce. According to Bally’s, the reduction of headcount will affect up to 15% of those employees. With that in mind, the company did not confirm what is the approximate number of employees that will be affected by the restructuring plan.
Bally’s revealed in its recent filing that it estimates its restructuring plan to deliver between $10 million and $15 million “in cash severance costs.” The proceeds as well as the redundancies are expected to take place in the first quarter of this year.
Bally’s Faced a Difficult Decision
Lee Fenton, Bally’s CEO, acknowledged that the company has taken a “difficult decision” to reduce its headcount. He explained that the business continues to face macro uncertainties on its way to further growth. Additionally, Fenton acknowledged that the operating environment continues to be challenging. In such times, he pointed out that companies need to effectively manage their costs to ensure their future growth.
“We’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our Interactive employees and contractor workforce by up to 15%, over the coming weeks.“
Lee Fenton, CEO at Bally’s Corporation
The restructuring plan, according to Fenton is an opportunity for Bally’s to “reset the business.” Speaking about the pandemic, the CEO said that the company continued to hire employees as the business received a significant boost. Still, Fenton said that overhiring may have happened in different areas.
The CEO pointed out that employees who are affected by the redundancies are going to be contacted. He outlined that Bally’s remains fully committed to supporting those employees with “fair terms and treatment.” Fenton explained: “We will offer more than is required in all the markets we operate in, although terms will be governed by local frameworks and will align with employment laws in every country.” Bally’s CEO urged the company’s members that are not affected by the redundancies to show support for their colleagues. He thanked all of the employees of the company for their hard work and dedication.
The announced restructuring and redundancies come after only recently, Bally’s named Tracy Harris an independent member of its Board of Directors.