Up to 1000 jobs on the chopping block as Crown Resorts actions national restructure

Blackstone-owned Crown Resorts will slash up to 1000 jobs from its Sydney, Melbourne and Perth operations citing reduced foreign tourism and a sharp decline in local workers.

Chief executive Ciaran Carruthers said on Monday that it had been a “difficult decision” to cull the workforce, with the bulk of jobs reportedly set to go from operations on the east coast.

Crown employs more than 20,000 people across its operations and there are about 5000 people working at Crown Perth’s hospitality and gambling complex in WA.

“The challenges at Crown reflect greatly reduced foreign tourism, a sharp decline in local workers in the city centres, and restrictions on gaming play in Sydney and Melbourne,” Mr Carruthers said.

“We are committed to our regulatory obligations and ongoing transformation, including Crown PlaySafe, Melbourne and Sydney Transformation Plans and ongoing remediation in Perth.

“This was a difficult decision, but we are focused on repositioning the business for long-term success.”

The 1000 job cuts adds to the approximately 275 that were cut from Crown’s Sydney operations in 2023.

Melbourne-based Mr Carruthers was brought in to run Crown from Macau in 2022 after the group was taken over by Blackstone for nearly $9 billion.

After saying Perth lacks entertainment, nightlife and world-class experiences earlier this year, Crown’s WA boss said the organisation was mulling new restaurants, bars and entertainment attractions to widen Crown Perth’s appeal and boost trading over the next few years.