Orange County Convention Center loaning employees to other departments
Orange County Convention Center loaning employees to other departments
The Orange County Convention Center is getting creative to make sure its employees continue to get a paycheck, even if they aren’t working at the facility anymore.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Orange County Convention Center is getting creative to make sure its employees continue to get a paycheck, even if they aren’t working at the facility anymore.
The Convention Center has been very quiet, a stark contrast from pre-pandemic times. The Convention Center’s Chief Operating Officer said the pandemic has cost more than $60 million in losses.
"Until about July, we had nothing going on here, unfortunately, much like everybody else, we were at home and it’s been tough watching that but the great thing is, over the last few months, things have started to pick up," said Ray Wells.
It will be a while before the Convention Center's calendar is back on track, so to save money, the Center is temporarily reducing its staff by 55%. Those employees aren’t being laid-off, however. Instead, they are being used to fill other temporary county jobs.
"Those employees are never actually leaving our staff, so while we loan them out and work for these other departments they are still convention center employees," said Walls.
Positions are across the board, from COVID response to the county’s helpline and jobs in various other departments. One of those reassigned employees is Event Manager Sean Hawkins, who will take on the role of Project Coordinator for Neighborhood Services.
(FOX 35 Orlando)
"Really relieved, and like I said, grateful because it could have been the other way. I could have been one of those. I’m just happy that we have the opportunity to keep going and to have a position," said Hawkins.
He’s excited to take on a new role, even if it may only be for a few months.
"We’re happy to do it. It’s something that could boost our skillset," Hawkins added.
Of the 470 employees, 190 are being reassigned. The remaining 60 vacant positions are being left unfilled, saving the Convention Center more than $10 million.
The employees will slowly be brought back into their positions as conventions ramp-up, which authorities hope will be sometime this summer.
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