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Cambodian workers at NagaWorld casino vexed over lay-offs as Hong Kong-listed parent firm reports profits

  • At least 600 workers have received lay-off messages, in what NagaWorld says is due to financial hardship from the Covid-19 pandemic
  • The job losses come amid news that its parent company NagaCorp reported US$102.3 million in net profit in the year ending December 31, 2020

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NagaWorld is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed firm NagaCorp. Photo: SCMP

When Reoun Sreyneang received notice she would be let go from her job tending hotel rooms for US$300 a month at Phnom Penh’s gold-tinted NagaWorld casino complex, she decided to accept the news without a fight.

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“I don’t believe I can win against the company that has millions of dollars in its pocket. They will always win,” said the hospitality worker.

Still, she admitted she was shocked that NagaWorld, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed firm NagaCorp that has an exclusive licence to run a casino in Phnom Penh, would fire her and her colleagues, given the tough employment situation as Cambodia continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic.

As NagaWorld was a “giant company” reporting profits every year, Sreyneang had thought they would need plenty of workers to keep operations running.

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At least 600 workers have already received lay-off messages as of last weekend, said NagaWorld employees union president Chhim Sithar, who counted herself among them. The company flagged last month that it would terminate 1,329 of its 8,000 workers due to financial hardship from the pandemic.

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