The Modern Honolulu’s laid-off workers are getting severance packages

Las Vegas-headquartered Diamond Resorts said today that it is offering severance packages to employees impacted by a recent layoff announcement at The Modern Honolulu.

The company, which bought The Modern Honolulu in April 2018 for a reported $225 million, recently notified 78 Modern Honolulu workers that their positions are to be eliminated in the next 30 days.

Diamond Resorts issued a written statement today.

“We don’t take the decision to lay off any employee lightly, which is why we’re offering every one of these team members — full time, part time and casual — a severance package,” the statement said. “We want to make sure they have support as they transition to new careers and we will be here for them through that process as we convert the property into a vacation ownership resort.”

Unite Here Local 5, which represents The Modern workers, posted a press release Thursday on its website that said the layoffs, which affect about 30 percent of the hotel’s staff, are spread across multiple departments, including: housekeeping, banquets, pool, in-room dining, reservations, and food and beverage.

Local 5 represents 270 workers at The Modern, which is one of 21 hotels and timeshares within Diamond Resorts’ international network of managed or affiliated properties. The union said The Modern is a full-service hotel, but that Diamond Resorts had expressed interest in cutting guest services and partially or fully converting the property into a timeshare.

Local 5 did not return a call from the Star-Advertiser, but issued a statement saying that it was “looking into its legal option.”