The Legoland Florida Resort and parent company Merlin Entertainments recently announced in a layoff notice that its food and beverage workers would be working in January for Aramark Corp., a Florida WARN notice said.
The “change in our organizational structure” at Legoland in Winter Haven means 519 workers who are now paid by the theme park would start receiving their pay and benefits from Aramark after Jan. 15, said the notice, signed by David N. Valdez with human resources at Legoland Florida.
“All personnel, duty positions, and rates of pay will remain the same once the changeover to Aramark takes effect,” the notice said. “All employees who currently possess benefits will automatically change over with no break in service. There is no union that represents employees at this facility and all affected employees have been notified of this change in employment status.”
The Winter Haven theme park includes Legoland, Peppa Pig, and several hotels all containing food service venues. Jobs impacted include executive chefs, restaurant managers, bartenders, and bussers, among others.
Other than the signature on their paychecks, everything should stay the same, including workers’ uniforms, hours, and culinary offerings at the eateries, Valdez said. Workers’ perks will be retained including the 30% discounts.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice were received on Oct. 31, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity website. The notices are required by federal law to provide advanced notice of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs.
“It’s more of a strategic alignment; our parent company Merlin Entertainment out of the UK, it is something they are doing globally so it also affects other locations throughout the United States,” Valdez said.
The only retraining for workers will be learning the Aramark cashing system set to be held in December.
Philadelphia-based Aramark has 248,000 employees in 10 countries serving people at sports venues, correctional facilities, healthcare facilities, school districts, hotels, and theme parks.
Legoland Florida Resort has announced that a new attraction, Pirate River Quest, will open on Jan. 12. The ride had been scheduled to open this month, but that was delayed because of high water levels following Hurricane Ian.
Pirate River Quest will feature captain-driven boats navigating the natural passageways of Lake Eloise and the historic Cypress Gardens, Legoland said in a news release. The quest to uncover the lost treasure of Captain Redbeard in this family-friendly boat ride unfolds brick by brick with a variety of sequences that tell the tale of a rowdy pirate crew, a troop of mischievous monkeys, and even a Kraken.