Universal to Pay Team Members 80% of Their Average Hours Starting April 20, Furloughing Part-Time Employees on May 3

Tom Williams, Chairman & CEO of Universal Parks & Resorts released additional information regarding the Team Members working at the Universal Orlando Resort.

Here's the announcement posted on the UOTeam website:

Dear Team Member,

I hope each of you, your family and your loved ones are healthy and well.

I want to thank you for your tremendous support, work, commitment and patience during this time. You are truly the best team in the world. These are challenging times and I know you are concerned about your health, your family and your job. I know you have seen headlines about other companies as they grapple with what none of us could have predicted. We must face this challenge, too.

Our priority is to take care of you as best we can. But we also have to sustain our business – and this will take all of us. We are all part of the same family. Like any family facing a challenge, we will come together. We will support each other, we will sacrifice together and, one day, we will celebrate together. There will be a day when we are open again and entertaining guests. And I look forward to celebrating that day with you.

For now, I have these updates to share with you:

First, we are extending our closure at least through May 31. It’s the right thing to do, as we listen to government officials and health experts – and as we think about you. You are safest at home and we want you to stay healthy. Like always, we’ll continue to monitor the situation and adjust accordingly.

Second, we are facing months of closure with no way to accurately predict when we will reopen. No business, even one as strong as ours, can sustain this without having to make difficult choices.

Here is what we are going to do:

• We will continue to pay our team members at 100 percent through April 19
• Effective April 20, nearly all of us – executives, front-of-house, back-of-house, salaried and hourly, will be paid at 80 percent – and we will ask everyone to adjust their work accordingly. There will be limited exceptions, with some team members being specifically asked to continue working at 100 percent and continuing to be paid at that level. Your benefits will remain unchanged and continue in full. If you have vacation time or PTO, you can use this to supplement your income during this time. This is temporary, of course, until we are through this.
• We have made the difficult decision to furlough our part-time hourly team members effective May 3. We are delaying the furlough so these team members have time to plan – and collect 80 percent of their average hours until then. Part-time hourly team members who participate in a benefits plan will continue to be enrolled in their plan, with the company paying weekly contributions on their behalf.

For our part-time hourly team members, please know that you remain in our thoughts. And while we don’t know precisely when, we look forward to welcoming you back when the time is right. [...]

This is a difficult time for the world, our country, our communities – and each of us. And yet, I know we will get through this together. Each of you are in my thoughts. And I look forward to the day when I can stand with you at our front gates and welcome back our guests.

Please take care of yourself, your families and each other.

Tom Williams
Chairman & CEO, Universal Parks & Resorts

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