SAN ANTONIO – The City of San Antonio on Wednesday announced that it will furlough about 270 employees who work at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, the Alamodome and other departments that rely on revenues generated by the Hotel Occupancy Tax.
According to a news release, the furloughs begin April 23 and are expected to last through July 31.
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City officials made the decision after revenues from the tax declined by tens of millions of dollars as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These employees are valued members of our team, but with little to no events scheduled for several months, the revenue shortfalls are so significant that we have to take steps now to put us in a position to ramp up operations again when the public health crisis subsides,” said City Manager Erik Walsh. “I want these employees to know that they are still part of the City of San Antonio family, and we are doing what we can to support them and their families during this difficult time."
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Employees will receive their regular pay from April 9 to April 22 and will continue to receive health care coverage during the furlough.
The city will mass file for unemployment insurance benefits for all of the furloughed employees to facilitate the process.
Minimum staff levels will be maintained for maintenance and security of the Convention Center and Alamodome.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.
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