Tourism is one of economy sectors that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic the most. Restrictions, closed facilities and establishments, different approaches of state authorities regarding support of tourist facilities force the operators that are active in this segment all around Europe to do their best to survive and to prepare themselves for a restart as good as possible. Unfortunately, the TMR company, which is in business in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria, is no exception.
After slimming down the structures and making them more effective in the spring of 2020, the company board of directors decided about a massive layoff on Monday 25th January 2021.
“Our facilities have been closed, some of them for several months and we cannot just sit, wait and hope. We are active in four European countries and can see how differently individual governments support tourism. In some countries, measures are announced, they apply and work, in others, they change constantly and their implementation costs us a lot of money that we will never get back. And in the end, we are switched off anyway. That is why we have to behave as responsibly as possible and save our expenses, even at the cost of unpopular measures. If we stabilise the business now, it will be easier for us to ‘take a breath’, restart and launch new projects again after the Corona-era,” said Igor Rattaj, the Chairman of the Board of Directors at TMR, a.s.
The mass layoff in Slovak TMR facilities and establishments should concern 180 employees. “It is mainly individuals who work in mountain resorts, the water park and the management sphere plus 80 employees whose fixed-term employment contracts have expired, whose probation periods have ended or who are retiring,“ informed Marek Schwarz, the general manager of the HR department at TMR, a.s.
Before the Corona-crisis, the TMR company gave work to almost 3500 employees in all countries where it does business. The slimming down of structures has affected all resorts and jobs so far – from seasonal workers to the company management. After the announced mass layoff in Slovakia, 1100 employees should work for TMR, 785 of them in Slovak facilities and establishments.