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Marriott to lay off more than 800 workers as part of restructuring plan
Hundreds of employees of Marriott — one of the biggest companies in Montgomery County — are being told they’re going to be checked out of their jobs in just a few weeks. Marriott was required by Maryland law to issue a warning that 833 people will lose their jobs in January of 2025 — just six weeks from now.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - Hundreds of employees of Marriott — one of the biggest companies in Montgomery County — are being told they’re going to be checked out of their jobs in just a few weeks.
Marriott was required by Maryland law to issue a warning that 833 people will lose their jobs in January of 2025 — six weeks from now.
FOX 5 is hearing from Marriott that these layoffs are part of their corporate restructuring plan, which they hope will better position them. However, it means hundreds of employees will be moved out of their positions.
"I mean this is Marriott, it’s big corporation," one Bethesda neighbor said. "I guess it’s pleasing shareholders instead of people working there."
Marriott International’s Bethesda headquarters opened just a few years ago. The company moved into its massive 22-story building in 2022 and longtime businesses like the Tastee Diner say they are very concerned about what losing hundreds of jobs will do to this area’s economy.
"We do get a handful of their employees and a handful of their customers," a Tastee Diner employee told FOX 5.
For now, it appears Marriott will be staying put in its new headquarters.
Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson tells FOX 5 he’s spoken with state officials about the impact of the job losses.
"Deeply disappointing news and it’s not something that we EVER want to hear of a company of a major employer like Marriott letting go of employees," Friedson said.
But Jenna Walters a journalist for the industry site Hotel Dive says she’s not surprised and that many hotel corporations like Marriott are still trying to cut costs, after big losses during COVID.
"That is definitely something that companies are now struggling with and I think it is being felt at Marriott," Walters said.
In a statement to FOX 5 a Marriott spokesman wrote that the news was "difficult" but that Marriott is hoping to lessen the impact by offering different jobs to the laid-off employees, to keep them in the company. They did not say if those jobs would be at the same salary.