Report: Hyatt cuts 30% of US staff - hands jobs to El Salvador

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Fewer American workers will be answering the phone at one of the US's largest hotel chains. Hyatt Hotels confirmed to DailyMail.com that its cutting US staffers from its customer service department. The company is reportedly replacing the American workers with staff in El Salvador, who will allegedly receive $400 a month payments.
Hyatt's reductions come as a raft of layoffs from some of the US's biggest firms, as companies look to cut costs and implement new AI technology. The hotel chain reduced staffing across guest services and support roles — who handled customer service requests including reservations, loyalty program support, and general guest assistance — by 30 percent in the US.
Hyatt did not confirm how many workers were affected, but travel blog View From The Wing — run by travel expert Gary Leff — reported that roughly 300 US-based employees were let go. The blog also said operations were being shifted in part to El Salvador, where outsourced agents reportedly earn as little as $400 a month. While Hyatt declined to comment on those specifics, former employees shared layoff experiences on social media platforms including Reddit, TikTok, and Leff's blog.
'Today, Hyatt finished what they started six months ago and terminated the rest of their US call team,' a person, claiming to be a laid-off employee, said on Reddit. 'Enjoy the customer service y'all!' Another Redditor reported getting laid off in a Zoom call. A third said they recently attended a company-wide summit and received assurances about their job security. On TikTok, a former Hyatt employee posted a video of themselves getting laid off on June 18, including a recording of an alleged mass-layoff video chat.
'We have made the very difficult decision to reduce the number of guest services and support [staff],' a voice can be heard in the video. A commenter on View From The Wing, identifying as a former staffer, said they were given 60 days of paid leave following the layoffs. The company, which operates more than 1,300 hotels across 76 countries and ranks as the fifth-largest hotel chain in the US, said the changes reflect 'the evolving nature of guest inquiries and shifting business needs.'
A spokesperson told DailyMail.com that 'decisions and conversations with impacted colleagues were handled with utmost respect and care,' and emphasized that care centers continue to operate in Marion, Illinois and Omaha, Nebraska. The restructuring comes as Hyatt, like many major companies, turns toward automation, self-service tools, and offshore labor to cut costs.
As the hospitality and retail industries adapts to post-pandemic shopping habits, the shift toward leaner, more tech-driven operations could leave fewer roles for American workers. But this shift is different from past American mass job cuts. Unlike past national firing trends that culled America's manufacturing openings, today's job cuts are increasingly impacting highly-educated, highly-compensated employees .