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April 2, 2020

Fade to black: Cinemark announces closing of four CT theaters, layoffs

Cinemark's movie theater in Milford.
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

National movie theater chain Cinemark USA Inc. notified the state’s Department of Labor Wednesday that it will be closing its four Connecticut locations and laying off its employees.

Cinemark has theaters in the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford, at 550 Universal Drive in North Haven, 90 Elm St. in Enfield and 99 Red Stone Rd. in Manchester.

According to a Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice, 295 workers will lose their jobs as a result of the decision. The company hopes to reopen the theaters once the crisis has passed, however.

Sid Srivastava, senior vice president and chief human resources officer with the Texas-based company, cited the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as the reason for the closings.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, including mandatory closure orders in some locations and recommendations of health and safety officials concerning steps to mitigate the spread of COVID19, [Cinemark has] made the incredibly difficult decision to close our movie theatre locations in the state of Connecticut,” Srivastava said in the notification.

The layoffs, which Srivastava characterized as “permanent,” went into effect last week, with employees being paid through March 26. The impacted employees included managers, box office, concession, ushers and maintenance workers.

“We regret the circumstances that made this layoff necessary,” Srivastava said in the notice.

Bethany Montgomery, a spokesperson for Cinemark, however, clarified that the closure of the Cinemark theaters is "temporary" and a direct result of the pandemic. 

"The health and safety of our employees, guests and communities is a top priority, and we look forward to once again hiring employees and welcoming moviegoers to experience the magic of cinematic storytelling on our big screens when it is safe to do so," Montgomery said.

The company shuttered its movie theaters nationwide due to the COVID-19 crisis in mid-March, and subsequently hasn’t been able to generate revenue. 

The company’s stock has tumbled in recent weeks. It was trading at $32.67 as recently as Feb. 20, but was down to $8.59 as of Thursday morning.

This story has been updated to include a comment from Montgomery regarding the closures being temporary.

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1 Comments

Anonymous
April 2, 2020

What happens when you have gift cards we have over $300 in gift cards

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