NCL Lays Off 300 at Harvest Caye

[SeaHunt]

crew-center and Belize TV channel 5 is reporting about layoffs at Harvest Caye:

 

"Another massive layoff is being reported in the cruise tourism sector where Norwegian Cruise Line has sent home close to three hundred employees from its Harvest Caye destination in southern Belize"

 

https://crew-center.com/norwegian-cruise-line-lays-300-employees-harvest-caye

 

https://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/203248?

 

 

[GA Dave]

So sad.  We met the nicest woman when we were there who was our server in the pool cabanas area.  She told us that Harvest Caye was the greatest thing that ever happened to her village.  She said the village was able to dramatically improve their school and the people that worked there were all living so much better.

Edited May 30, 2020 by GA Dave

[joeyancho]

Hopefully this will all work out.  

[BirdTravels]

So, it is hard to exactly interpret the news articles. In the US, there would be a difference between furloughs and layoffs. The former would be that continue your employment with the company, but not report to work until you are needed. The latter (layoff) is a termination of employment. The cruise line would then hire fewer, cheaper labor when they reopen.  

 

Consider the 10's of thousands of crew who are also out of a job. With limited cruises upon reopening, they will be out of work for a long time. 

Edited May 30, 2020 by BirdTravels

[FLAHAM]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Consider the 10's of thousands of crew who are also out of a job. With limited cruises upon reopening, they will be out of work for a long time. 

As will many former cruise passengers.

[drvmywifecrzy]

2 minutes ago, FLAHAM said:

As will many former cruise passengers.

THere are tons of jobs out there.  People just dont want to apply

[Peachypooh]

13 hours ago, GA Dave said:

So sad.  We met the nicest woman when we were there who was our server in the pool cabanas area.  She told us that Harvest Caye was the greatest thing that ever happened to her village.  She said the village was able to dramatically improve their school and the people that worked there were all living so much better.

I met the same two women on two visits who were servers in the pool cabana area both of whom told us the same thing. They were both single Moms and their salaries supported their children and other family members. What a shame.

[julig22]

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

So, it is hard to exactly interpret the news articles. In the US, there would be a difference between furloughs and layoffs. The former would be that continue your employment with the company, but not report to work until you are needed. The latter (layoff) is a termination of employment. The cruise line would then hire fewer, cheaper labor when they reopen.  

 

Consider the 10's of thousands of crew who are also out of a job. With limited cruises upon reopening, they will be out of work for a long time. 

Same for all of the people at many of the ports who depend primarily on cruise passengers.  Souvenir vendors, tour guides, bus & taxi drivers - just for starters.  And they don't have any sort of contract, since they are independent.  I was in Alaska at the end of the season last year - some of the small shops didn't even make it during a good season.

[Petoonya]

33 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Same for all of the people at many of the ports who depend primarily on cruise passengers.  Souvenir vendors, tour guides, bus & taxi drivers - just for starters.  And they don't have any sort of contract, since they are independent.  I was in Alaska at the end of the season last year - some of the small shops didn't even make it during a good season.

I'm replanning a Tahiti cruise and so many of the vendors I used a year ago are shuttered up for good. With no work due to no tourism I worry about how they feed their families. Since it's a French protectorate hopefully the French government is supplementing.

[Sand and Seas]

One of my favorite things about Harvest Caye are the wonderful friendly employees we have talked to there.  They seem so genuinely happy to have us visit.  I hope they will be able to make it through this time and get their jobs back.

[Turtles06]

12 hours ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

THere are tons of jobs out there.  People just dont want to apply

Yes, all those people who just want to default on their rent or mortgages, or who just prefer to laze around and collect unemployment. 😳

[mugtech]

Unemployment compensation in Belize is $75/week for 12 weeks.

[beerman2]

21 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

So, it is hard to exactly interpret the news articles. In the US, there would be a difference between furloughs and layoffs. The former would be that continue your employment with the company, but not report to work until you are needed. The latter (layoff) is a termination of employment. The cruise line would then hire fewer, cheaper labor when they reopen.  

 

Consider the 10's of thousands of crew who are also out of a job. With limited cruises upon reopening, they will be out of work for a long time. 

Not all layoffs are terminations of employment , some are temporary. I know many people who work(ed) in the auto industry who have been laid off for various reasons. All have been called back.

[vpearlkc]

20 hours ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

THere are tons of jobs out there.  People just dont want to apply

 

What jobs? Picking peaches for $3 per hour? The unemployment rate hasn't been this bad since the 1930s.

 

 

[drvmywifecrzy]

1 minute ago, vpearlkc said:

 

What jobs? Picking peaches for $3 per hour? The unemployment rate hasn't been this bad since the 1930s.

 

 

 

Check Linkedin , you will see all of them posted

[vpearlkc]

I bit. Went to Linkedin. Something like 100+ job listings nationwide. That should put a dent in the 40 million people laid off right now. Most of the hiring that has been done since this pandemic started has been at essential businesses that have been swamped. Amazon has been hiring for positions paying $15  or a little more an hour because business is booming. These jobs are the exception not the rule.

[CruzRamirez]

Sad to hear about the layoffs.

[IrieBajan54]

On 5/30/2020 at 9:29 AM, drvmywifecrzy said:

THere are tons of jobs out there.  People just dont want to apply

 

Nonsense! Sounds like talking points from certain media.

In every state some businesses are still fully shutdown or operating at an allowed 25% - 50% capacity. Furthermore, companies like American and United announced cuts of 30% of the management workforce and are just waiting for October 1 to layoff rank and file workers after the stimulus obligations expire.

 

Good luck to the Harvest Cay workers.

 

[hloakes]

I can't tell when it happened, but if they are just now laying them off, I would think they have been generous. It is sad,  but I am not sure what they are to do. I have been laid off for several weeks now, but I am getting unemployeement. 

[Comi.uy]

Well this is totally expected. Hope all those that cry for reopen and cruising only once a vaccine is developed remember these things...

[vpearlkc]

5 minutes ago, Comi.uy said:

Well this is totally expected. Hope all those that cry for reopen and cruising only once a vaccine is developed remember these things...

 

Vaccines are not easy. Aids first  reared its ugly head when I was in my early thirties and they started working on a vaccine. I will turn 70 in three weeks and they are still working on a vaccine. My hope is more for an effective treatment though a vaccine for the coronavirus would be much better. My other hope is that covid 19 will morph into a more benign disease.

 

[Comi.uy]

10 minutes ago, vpearlkc said:

 

Vaccines are not easy. Aids first  reared its ugly head when I was in my early thirties and they started working on a vaccine. I will turn 70 in three weeks and they are still working on a vaccine. My hope is more for an effective treatment though a vaccine for the coronavirus would be much better. My other hope is that covid 19 will morph into a more benign disease.

 

Yeah thats what im saying, a vaccine for SARS has been in development for years now too and no progress and remember covid is similar to it. Life, business and tourism has to restart

[njhorseman]

5 minutes ago, Comi.uy said:

Yeah thats what im saying, a vaccine for SARS has been in development for years now too and no progress and remember covid is similar to it. Life, business and tourism has to restart

SARS is a really bad example for comparison. SARS infections worldwide totaled only 8,100 with about 800 deaths. The disease disappeared within about a year of its identification. Why would billions of dollars be spent to develop a vaccine for a disease that never infected a large number people, quickly disappeared, and no longer exists?  What happened was the money for developing a vaccine eventually dried up and the research stopped.

 

 In terms of impact SARS and COVID-19 aren't even in the same universe.

 

 

[Comi.uy]

2 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

SARS is a really bad example for comparison. SARS infections worldwide totaled only 8,100 with about 800 deaths. The disease disappeared within about a year of its identification. Why would billions of dollars be spent to develop a vaccine for a disease that never infected a large number people, quickly disappeared, and no longer exists?  What happened was the money for developing a vaccine eventually dried up and the research stopped.

 

 In terms of impact SARS and COVID-19 aren't even in the same universe.

 

 

Thats true but vaccines dont work like that, throwing extra billions is no guarantee it'll happen.

[njhorseman]

Just now, Comi.uy said:

Thats true but vaccines dont work like that, throwing extra billions is no guarantee it'll happen.

Of course there's no guarantee . investing  all the money in the world might not result in a vaccine, but you're missing the point.  Eventually no money was being spent on a SARS vaccine, so research halted.  Not doing any research is not the same as doing research but failing. You can't develop a vaccine if you're not trying to...and that's what eventually happened with SARS.