Old Bahama Bay to Lay Off 85 Workers

More bad news for Grand Bahama Island, where unemployment tops 14 percent, according to the Bahamas’ Department of Statistics.

The 73-suite Old Bahama Bay in West End, Grand Bahama, plans to lay off up to 85 employees this week due to low occupancy over a “prolonged period of time,” according to Minister of Labor Dion Foulkes.

The beachfront resort is part of the massive Ginn sur Mer development, which is under construction and will include a 400-unit condo-hotel, 1,000 private homes, a golf course, a marina and spa when completed.

Delays in restructuring loans temporarily set back construction last winter. While there is no timeline for the completion of phase one, the project is moving “full steam ahead,” according to Foulkes.

Meanwhile, Old Bahama Bay will remain open. Ownership will not shift from Ginn sur Mer, and laid-off workers could be rehired if business picks up.

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said that he expected further layoffs in the hotel sector, according to the Nassau Guardian newspaper. Hundreds of hotel workers in the Bahamas have lost their jobs over the past year, due to diminished tourism.

The Atlantis, RIU Paradise Island, Wyndham Nassau and the now-closed Four Seasons Great Exuma at Emerald Bay are among the Bahamas resorts that have cut jobs.