Cineplex has temporarily laid off nearly 5,000 part-time employees as its movie theatre and entertainment venues in Ontario were ordered by the province to shut down amid the surge of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
“We are eager to get our team back to work once and for all, as soon as these temporary restrictions are lifted,” a company spokesperson told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday.
Ontario put in place new public health measures starting Jan. 5, including restrictions on gatherings, building capacity limits and the closure of schools and other spaces.
This isn’t the first time Canada’s largest movie theatre chain has issued pink slips during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cineplex also temporarily laid off thousands of part-time workers in March of 2020 after closing cinemas and entertainment venues.
With files from The Canadian Press
