New Station Casino lays off 162 workers

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Kansas City Station Casino, which opened Jan. 16 as the fourth-largest casino complex in the nation, made the announcement Monday.

The number of cuts is higher than that revealed Saturday, when the company said it had laid off more than 30 workers in its entertainment division. That division was also the hardest hit by Monday's layoffs.

Joe Canfora, Midwest president of Las Vegas-based Station Casinos Inc., said layoffs as well as attrition accounted for a higher number of cuts. He said business at the giant gambling and entertainment complex remains good. The venue now has about 2,940 full-time employees and is still hiring in certain areas, he said.

"We're just regrouping," Canfora said. "It's typical when you open a place of this magnitude to evaluate what's running good and what's not running so good."

He said that some employees are on overtime and that the complex still needs to hire workers. Some laid-off workers were being offered jobs in other areas of the complex.

"What we're doing is we're hiring in some areas and adjusting in other areas," he said.

Canfora said the casino's entertainment division realized it needed fewer workers because the music groups it was booking were bringing their own technicians.