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Star Entertainment To Cut Jobs and Freeze Salaries

Posted on April 20, 2023 | 5:37 am
star_entertainment_group_to_cut_500_jobs_freeze_salaries_as_new_regulatory_restrictions_hit_bottom_line

Star Entertainment Group, one of the biggest casino operators in Australia, has announced that it will have to cut 500 full-time jobs and also freeze salaries due to difficulties in operating its Sydney and Gold Coast casinos. 

The company also announced that executive bonuses will be canceled for the foreseeable future. Star Entertainment will also undergo a strategic review which will determine possible alternatives that would eventually increase value for its shareholders.

The company’s intentions were revealed in a filing submitted to the Australian Securities Exchange. The proposed measures are expected to save around 100 million Australian dollars in annual operational expenditure for Star Entertainment.

The Australian company’s announcement comes after the New South Wales state government proposed a major tax hike on gaming revenues, which could raise the current 32 percent tax to more than 60 percent.

The company filing cites a “significant and rapid deterioration in operating conditions” at The Star Sydney and The Star Gold Coast as the motivation behind the cuts. In fact, both casinos were hit with operating restrictions following the inquiries into the company’s operations.

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An Uneven Competitive Environment

Regarding The Star Sydney, the filing submitted by Star Entertainment said that the casino “continues to operate in an uneven competitive environment as it relates to the regulatory settings for complimentary services in its private gaming areas.”

Moreover, even though the company’s properties in Queensland had good performances during the first half of the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the revenues at The Star Gold Coast in particular “have deteriorated in recent weeks.”

“To put the operating environment into perspective, the Group’s current earnings performance is at unprecedented low levels (excluding the COVID-19 period),” the company explained. The filing also added that Star Entertainment expects to close the 2023 fiscal year with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBIDTA) of at least 280 million Australian dollars.

Star Entertainment has already been fined 200 million Australian dollars by regulators in New South Wales and Queensland and might face further penalties from AUSTRAC for failings in its anti money laundering policies.

Source:

“Star Entertainment Group to cut 500 jobs, freeze salaries as new regulatory restrictions hit bottom line“, asgam.com, April 19, 2023.

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