Legoland has announced it is laying off nearly 100 employees at its Carlsbad park, part of a broader companywide restructuring of how it delivers shows and other entertainment offerings.
The vast majority of the layoffs documented in a required filing with the California Employment Development Department are identified as performers — 87 out of a total 97 job cuts. Others listed include stage managers, an events assistant manager and production specialist.
Legoland California characterized the staff reduction as a way to “elevate the guest experience” and better compete in the theme park sector.
“The decision to reduce the size of our entertainment team was undoubtedly difficult, but these changes will allow the Resort to operate more flexibly and responsively in a competitive market,” the park said in an emailed statement.
“We will continue to have a core in-house entertainment offering, which we will scale up to meet our brand and guest experiences during the year. This will include working with a global leader in this sector — who will be providing employment opportunities — to bolster our entertainment provision during seasonal special events.”
An announcement on who the new provider is will come at a later date, the park said.
According to the WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) letter sent by Legoland, the layoffs are to begin March 25 and continue through April 7.
A similar announcement was made for the Florida theme park, which will be laying off 234 workers.
Historically, entertainment at Legoland California has been provided largely by an in-house team that consists of a mixture of permanent and seasonal employees, both full and part time, explained Julie Estrada, a spokesperson for Legoland parent company, Merlin Entertainments. Going forward, the park’s remaining in-house entertainers will continue to interact with both hotel and park guests as costumed characters for the park’s meet-and-greet offerings.
Until the contract is finalized with the park’s new outside provider, those Legoland employees will staff the current lineup of such shows as Benny’s Dance Party and Once Upon a Brick, Estrada said.
The Lego World Parade this summer would be staffed by the new provider, she added. Similarly, special programming like Brick-or-Treat during Halloween and shows during the Christmas holiday period would be produced with the help of Legoland’s new contractor.
There still may be entertainment jobs available for departing employees, Legoland noted in its company statement.
“We are supporting employees during this period of change,” the statement reads, “and will do all we can to help them find alternative employment, including sharing auditions for upcoming seasonal events within the Park.”
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