Marriott to lay off hundreds at Bethesda headquarters
Marriott International Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is laying off hundreds of workers at its Bethesda headquarters because of the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic that have ravaged the travel industry.
A Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification filed with Maryland says the hotel giant is laying off 673 workers from its Fernwood Road headquarters effective Oct. 23. Marriott confirmed to the Washington Business Journal that the cost-saving move is in the form of permanent layoffs and not temporary furloughs. Bethesda Magazine was the first to report on the workforce reduction.
In March, just as the pandemic was making its first push in the United States, Marriott said it was furloughing about two-thirds of its corporate employees for 90 days beginning in April. In May, the company said reduced work schedules and furloughs would extend into early October.
Marriott employs about 4,000 workers at its North Bethesda headquarters, where it is planning to exit in 2022. In January 2019, Marriott sold its current headquarters to Erickson Living with plans to redevelop the property into a senior living community. Marriott is presumably leasing back the 33.7-acre property from Erickson.
Connie Kim, a communications officer with the company, said in email to the WBJ that the layoffs do not impact Marriott's planned move to a 30-story headquarters in downtown Bethesda. Developers Boston Properties and the Bernstein Cos. are currently building that complex, which includes an adjacent hotel.
