Aramark informs Colorado it will lay off 975 workers

Aramark, one of the nation’s largest foodservice contractors, informed the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment that it will let go 975 workers in the state.

“Aramark has experienced unprecedented disruption to our business caused by the COVID- 19 global pandemic,” the company informed the state in two separate letters filed under the federal

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The company plans to dismiss 71 bartenders at the Mission Ballroom in Denver and 904 workers at Coors Field, where the Colorado Rockies play, according to the letters, which the state received Tuesday. The jobs cut at Coors Field include beverage attendants, cashiers, cooks, food prep workers, bussers, hosts, security workers, suite attendants and food stand staff.

“We expect these actions to be temporary and look forward to returning to regular operations as venues are permitted to reopen and attendance restrictions are lifted,” David Freireich, a spokesman for the Philadelphia- based concessionaire, said in an email.

Weekly COVID- 19 cases reached a record high of 6,722 cases last week, more than triple the recent low of 2,016 seen in the last week of August, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. City and county governments have imposed additional restrictions in response.

In the summer of 2019, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets, dropped Aramark as its vendor at the Pepsi Center. That resulted in the layoff of 185 workers at Aramark and another 85 at Levy Premium Foodservice, which handled the fine dining.