SeaWorld San Diego losing 108 workers
Performers and costumed characters, along with top-level managers, are among the more than 100 employees who are losing their jobs at SeaWorld's San Diego park.
The breakdown of layoffs is detailed in a formal state notification required under the California Worker Adjustment Retraining Act (WARN) filed on Friday.
SeaWorld San Diego has notified 108 of its employees that they will be losing their jobs as part of a company-wide restructuring that will result in more than 300 layoffs at SeaWorld Entertainment. The company operates 11 theme parks, including three marine parks in San Diego, Orlando and San Antonio.
In San Diego, the park's workforce ranges from roughly 2,000 to 4,000 full- and part-time workers, depending on the time of year.
The largest concentration of job cuts is in the area of entertainers and performers, with 34 individuals in those categories losing their jobs. An additional 16 "costume characters" are also identified as being cut.
Other positions listed among the job cuts are the vice president of finance and directors of the culinary, merchandise, plant engineering and human resources departments, as well as several management and supervisory jobs.
The layoffs followed closely on the heels of an announcement last week that SeaWorld CEO Jim Atchison is resigning and a nationwide search for his replacement had been launched. The shakeup at SeaWorld is prompted by continuing struggles by the beleaguered company to stem revenue and attendance declines amid criticism of the park stemming from the "Blackfish" documentary critical of its treatment of killer whales.
