Massive layoffs have rocked Macau, the tiny gambling enclave of Asia. At the Venetian Macau resort, of the 51 custom made gondolas, by late October, less than 20 were operating. By mid November, most the gondoliers have been fired and given plane tickets back home to North America. Now only two gondolas are operating in the man made indoor ‘grand canal’ that is all over the brochures of the Venetian and also the videos that are played on the shuttle buses and ferries.

Las Vegas Sands has fired 500 workers from it’s Macau operations and reduced the hours of over 1,000 employees. Such a layoff has great effects on the local economy, and roughly equates to two percent of the local Macau workforce. Recent visa controls by mainland China are to blame for the reduction in staff. The new regulations now limit Chinese nationals to only one visit to Macau every three months, rather than the previous one a month.

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