News outlet The Oregonian has confirmed that Oregon Lottery officials are expected to furlough most workers and terminate 60 jobs in response to a budget gap caused as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The job cuts come six weeks after state locals last gambled on video lottery machines, which bring in most of the Lottery’s money, with Director Barry Pack confirming that the terminations account for 13% of the agency’s total staff body.
The Director also revealed that an additional 61% of the Oregon Lottery’s workforce will be placed on furloughs of at least 30 days, with individuals who remain working set to take a pay cut of between 10%-15%.
Releasing a statement, Pack said: “Today is a hard day, but these reductions will help ensure Lottery continues to deliver needed dollars to Oregon now and in the long run. That’s little consolation to the employees negatively impacted, however, and my heart goes out to each and everyone.”
The sudden shutdown of the state’s video lottery terminals follows on from the ban placed by Governor Kate Brown on dining inside restaurants/bars and is expected to cost the organisation millions of dollars on a daily basis in lost wagers.
Moreover, lottery officials also revealed a drop in sales for draw games such as Powerball, with it being expected that the decline could soon begin affecting other state agencies that rely on lottery funding such as the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
The changes being made to the Oregon Lottery’s workforce is expected to save the state a reported $7.4m according to the agency.