Laid off from MGM Resorts.
Nearly all of MGM Resorts' record in our tracker is one pandemic event. Of its 40 filings there, 38 are May 2020 notices, 37 of them in Nevada, from the furloughs that ended in about 18,000 layoffs company-wide that August. Its 2025 cuts, from concierge desk closures affecting 34 employees to manager cuts described in unverified posts, left no filing we track.
At a glance
What's known about MGM Resorts severance and layoffs
- 40, with 38 dated May 2020 · MGM Resorts WARN filings in our tracker
- 0 filings covering 0 jobs · MGM Resorts filings in our tracker since 2025
- Nearly 63,000 · MGM employees furloughed in 2020
- About 18,000, a quarter of pre-pandemic staff · Furloughed MGM employees let go, August 2020
- 34; 19 lost jobs, 15 reassigned · MGM concierge employees affected, April 2025
- $2,000 per year of seniority, per the union · Culinary contract severance for MGM tech layoffs
Recent MGM Resorts layoffs
MGM Resorts cut about 800 managers in September 2025, an unverified post claimed
On September 17, 2025, the Las Vegas Locally account posted on X that MGM had cut around 800 supervisors, managers and senior managers in a week. The post names no source, and no MGM confirmation appears in the reporting we track. The newest MGM filing in our tracker dates from January 2021.
Previous rounds
MGM Resorts layoff history
MGM Resorts' layoffs on record come in two shapes, the pandemic furloughs of 2020 with a state paper trail, and a run of smaller cuts before and since that left none in our tracker. On May 5, 2020, MGM Resorts International Operations told Nevada's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation that the COVID-19 downturn and ordered closures had forced it to lay off most of its workforce, through furloughs beginning March 2 to 15. It had paid two weeks of wages to full-time staff and anyone averaging 30 hours, and would keep benefits for health plan enrollees through August 31, and warned the layoff might outlast six months or become permanent, naming August 31, 2020 as the separation date. Bellagio, MGM Grand and the other resort companies filed alongside it, which is why 38 of the 40 filings in our tracker are dated May 2020.
The date held. On August 28, 2020, the Review-Journal reported that roughly 18,000 furloughed employees, a quarter of the pre-pandemic workforce, would be laid off that Monday, out of nearly 63,000 furloughed that year. CEO Bill Hornbuckle's letter kept them on the recall list, with seniority and benefits restored for anyone rehired by December 31, 2021, and health coverage for enrolled workers ran through September 30. The Nevada letter added that bumping rights depended on each worker's union contract, and anyone without one had none.
The cuts on either side of that event were smaller and framed around costs and streamlining. On April 25, 2019 it told 254 people their jobs were gone as it went after $100 million in labor costs, said the cuts hit managers only, and offered career transition services. On April 26, 2025 it confirmed that concierge desks at MGM Grand, The Signature, New York-New York, Mandalay Bay, Park MGM and Vdara would close that Monday. MGM put the number affected at 34, called reports of about 60 inaccurate, and offered other positions or transition support, and the Review-Journal later counted 19 job losses and 15 reassignments. MGM also said the spring cuts weren't budget cuts or a widespread layoff initiative. On an earnings call that spring, executives tied concierge and call center reductions to changing customer preferences, with roughly 80 percent of those exchanges on digital platforms, and CFO Jonathan Halkyard said Las Vegas full-time equivalents were down in the first quarter.
The biggest 2025 numbers come only from posts. The Las Vegas Locally account said on April 13 that over 200 contact center employees would be laid off, citing one source, and on September 17 that MGM had cut around 800 mid-level managers in a week while merging departments. Neither figure is confirmed in the reporting we track. The Review-Journal did report in May 2025 that Culinary and Bartenders members in Las Vegas and Reno had seen no significant workforce reductions to date, and that contractual protections typically push industry cuts toward other employees such as mid-to-upper-level management.
If Culinary Local 226 or Bartenders Local 165 represents you at Aria, Bellagio, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, New York-New York or Park MGM, the unions describe a five-year contract reached with MGM in November 2023 that covers more than 25,400 workers at those eight resorts, and members voted 99 percent to ratify it. The union says the agreement guarantees advance notice of job-affecting technology, severance and health care for workers laid off because of new technology, and recall rights for up to three years after another pandemic or economic crisis. Culinary's Ted Pappageorge put that severance at $2,000 per year of seniority plus six months of added health and pension benefits. Ask the union which of those terms apply to your job before you sign anything MGM hands you.
Losing a job at Nevada's largest employer is hard, whatever reason the letter gives. In Nevada, where 38 of the 40 filings sit, DETR's Employment Security Division decides eligibility, pays benefits and takes claims online at nui.nv.gov. DETR requires that the job loss wasn't your fault, that you're able and available to work, and that you're making a sincere effort to find a job. If MGM calls you back while you're collecting, DETR lists refusing suitable work without good cause among the reasons you may not qualify, so get the offer in writing and ask DETR before turning it down. Every MGM notice we hold is on our WARN filings tracker, including MGM National Harbor's Maryland filing from January 2021.
Reporting on previous MGM Resorts layoff rounds
September 2025, managers (unverified post) · Around 800 supervisors, managers and senior managers, per a Las Vegas Locally post naming no source
April 2025, concierge desks at six Strip hotels · 34 employees affected, per MGM; the Review-Journal later counted 19 job losses and 15 reassignments
Other positions in the company or transition support. No severance terms on record.
April 2025, contact center (unverified post) · Over 200 contact center employees, per a Las Vegas Locally post citing one source
August 2020, furloughed workers separated · About 18,000 furloughed employees nationwide, a quarter of the pre-pandemic workforce
March 2020, pandemic furloughs · Nearly 63,000 employees furloughed during 2020
Two weeks of pay for full-time and 30-hour staff, per MGM's notice for its operations entity.
April 2019, managers · 254 people, managers only and no union workers, per the company
Career transition services. No severance terms on record.
What to do after being laid off from MGM Resorts
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. MGM Resorts's biggest hubs: Nevada, Maryland. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what MGM Resorts's hub states run: Nevada, Maryland, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
MGM Resorts layoff and severance questions
Did MGM Resorts have layoffs in 2025?
Yes. In April 2025 MGM said 34 concierge employees were affected as it closed desks at six Strip hotels, and the Review-Journal later counted 19 job losses and 15 reassignments among them. Larger figures, over 200 contact center jobs and around 800 managers, come only from unverified posts. Our tracker's newest MGM filing is from January 2021.
How many MGM Resorts employees were laid off during COVID?
About 18,000. MGM furloughed nearly 63,000 employees in 2020, and in late August roughly 18,000 still on furlough, a quarter of its pre-pandemic workforce, were told they'd be laid off. A May 2020 MGM notice to Nevada had already named August 31, 2020 as the separation date.
Does MGM Resorts pay severance?
No company formula is on record. In 2020, MGM's notice for its operations entity listed two weeks of pay and benefits for health plan enrollees through August 31. The 2019 manager cut came with career transition services, and the 2025 concierge closures with other positions or transition support. For union members laid off over new technology, Culinary's Ted Pappageorge put contract severance at $2,000 per year of seniority plus six months of added health and pension benefits.
Did the MGM cyberattack lead to layoffs?
Nothing in the reporting we track ties a layoff to it, and our tracker holds no MGM filing from 2023. The September 2023 attack began when hackers impersonated an MGM employee found on LinkedIn and called the IT help desk. It left staff checking in guests and processing reservations by hand, and MGM, which refused to negotiate, faced an estimated $100 million in damages.
How many WARN notices has MGM Resorts filed?
Our tracker holds 40. Nevada has 38, all May 2020 except The Cosmopolitan's July 2020 filing, made before MGM bought it, and Maryland and Ohio have one each. BetMGM, MGM's 50/50 venture, isn't counted. Treat 40 as a floor, because our Michigan, Massachusetts and New York archives start after 2020 and couldn't hold pandemic notices from MGM Grand Detroit, MGM Springfield or Empire City.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from MGM Resorts?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. MGM Resorts's biggest U.S. hubs are Nevada, Maryland. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at MGM Resorts?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at MGM Resorts?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from MGM Resorts?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.