Amid a continued shutdown of its theme parks, SeaWorld Entertainment announced that by April 1, it will furlough 90 percent of its employees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the Orlando-based company had promised to pay employees through the end of March, that will end April 1, the company said Friday. It offered no new date for reopening the dozen parks within the SeaWorld theme park portfolio. SeaWorld had announced a couple of weeks ago that the closure would be through the end of March, but the widening pandemic apparently has forced the company to extend the closure.

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“The furlough period is uncertain at this time due to the temporary park closures and will be reassessed as business conditions dictate,” the company said Friday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “The Company looks forward to welcoming back its ambassadors and guests when it is safe to open again.”


The announcement came on the same day that the Walt Disney Co. announced that Disneyland and Disney World would be closed “until further notice.” The company, which had been paying its employees throughout the ongoing closure, also announced that it would continue to pay hourly workers through April 18.

And in Carlsbad, the Legoland park, Sea Life Aquarium and its themed hotels will now be shuttered until April 15, the park said Friday on its Twitter page.

Friday, March 27th 2020 update from LEGOLAND California Resort. Please visit https://t.co/3AejLLtIZQ for more information. pic.twitter.com/HXXhCZT6NM — LEGOLAND California (@LEGOLAND_CA) March 27, 2020

Earlier this week, Universal Studios Hollywood and the Universal Orlando Resort had said they would remain closed until April 19, which is three weeks longer than they had previously intended.


SeaWorld, in its SEC filing, did not state how many workers it employs, but in the company’s most recent annual report, it stated that as of Dec. 31, 2019, it employed roughly 4,300 full-time workers and 11,000 part-timers. The Union-Tribune reported last year that during its peak summer season in 2018, the San Diego park had as many as 4,000 workers.

While the continued spread of the coronavirus outbreak will financially devastate theme parks, especially as they near the crucial summer season, SeaWorld will likely take an even harder hit. Only in the last year had the theme park company started to rebound from the years-long attendance declines it suffered following the 2013 release of the anti-captivity documentary “Blackfish.”

Its attendance numbers had been gradually growing again as it added more thrill rides and roller coasters, most notably at its marine parks. In San Diego, the park was set to debut soon its Emperor coaster, billed as the tallest and fastest floorless dive coaster in the state. But that is now postponed.

In a recent SEC filing, the company warned that it no longer expected to meet its previously stated goal of $475 million to $500 million of adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) by the end of 2020. Its stock has also taken a beating, closing at $13.65 a share Friday, down more than 58 percent since the first of the year.