Tribe shifting jobs to casino

Friday, May 16, 2003 | 11:28 a.m.

line ASSOCIATED PRESS

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. -- The Mashantucket Pequot tribal government will lay off 30 employees and transfer 225 people to Foxwoods Resort Casino in a move to streamline operations.

The tribe's chief operating officer, John Guevremont, told The Day of New London that some functions performed by government employees should be done by Foxwoods workers.

The government that evolved following the tribe's resurgence in the 1980s became so unwieldy by 1995 that there were nearly 1,110 government employees or just about three per tribal member, Guevremont said.

The reorganization will leave the tribe with about 600 government workers. The tribe has grown to about 770 members.

Guevremont says Foxwoods is not planning layoffs, and the gambling enterprise will continue to grow.

Foxwoods employed about 9,000 full-time employees and 2,000 part-timers with a $374 million payroll last year.

The Mashantuckets plan to hire 200 people over the next year to staff a golf resort being built and a casino expansion.

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