Trump Hotels fire staff

The Trump Organization has laid off or furloughed around 1,500 workers, with many impacted at its hotels and resorts across North America.

It has trimmed staff at properties in New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, Vancouver and Honolulu, according to public filings.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach to miss $50,000 in rent payments and the Trump Organization is reportedly seeking agreement to postpone loan payments to lender Deutsche Bank.

That could prove to be nightmare scenario for the bank and possibly the President himself, as Deutsche Bank is currently being investigated by the Department of Justice over money laundering.

The Washington Post reports there are about $350 million in outstanding loans.

Trump’s closed hotels are costing about $650,000 a day in lost revenue.

The Trump Organization was excluded from receiving financial assistance in the coronavirus aid package.

It prohibits businesses ‘controlled by the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and heads of executive departments from receiving loans or investments from Treasury programs’.

However, during a press conference last week, President Trump  refused to rule out the possibility that his company may also seek federal dollars to help defer costs.

“I don’t know,” Trump said last Saturday at his daily coronavirus briefing. “I just don’t know what the government assistance would be for what I have. I have hotels. Everybody knew I had hotels when I got elected. They knew I was a successful person when I got elected, so it’s one of those things.”