William Hill US CEO donates salary to more than 600 furloughed employees
Operator sends home hundreds of US employees without pay as venues shut down during coronavirus pandemic
William Hill US has sent more than 600 employees home without pay as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The majority of staffers worked in casino sportsbooks around the country, all of which have been closed down to limit the spread of the virus.
Hills US CEO Joe Asher has since pledged to donate his entire salary to a foundation designed to assist William Hill employees that have been furloughed (temporarily laid off).
“I’d prefer not to disclose the number, but I’m a reasonably well-paid individual and I said at the outset that I’d pay my salary until sports come back,” Asher told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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Asher is encouraging the 255 Hills employees still in work to contribute to the foundation, which was set up last week.
Group CEO Ulrik Bengtsson said in February the operator was aiming to launch online gaming in the US this year.
Prior to the cancellation or postponement of all professional and college sports in the US, as well as the closure of all casinos, the firm saw revenue gains of 33% in 2019.
However, it last week suspended a dividend payment and confirmed access to a revolving credit facility of $513.6m if the operator’s financial position worsened.