LV Sands to cut 11,000 jobs at Macau

MACAU, China -- As reported by AFP: "Up to 11,000 construction workers are to lose their jobs as US gaming giant Las Vegas Sands delays a huge development in gambling haven Macau, the head of Las Vegas Sands Asia said Thursday.

"Stephen Weaver told a news conference that until the company could secure additional financing, it had taken the 'conservative' measure of suspending work on the project, leaving the 11,000 workers on the site facing dismissal.

"But he insisted that current operations in Macau - including the gargantuan Venetian casino which opened last year - were profitable, and that the new projects would go ahead once new cash was secured.

"'We have got 1.2 billion US dollars put into the ground, and we are not going to walk away from it. We are a firm believer that we need the room to grow the market,' Weaver told reporters.

"'I think there is no possibility that construction would not start again.'

"He said the company was now searching for between 1.5 and 2 billion US dollars of financing from a syndicate of banks, including some from Asia, so they could restart the work, which includes a Sheraton hotel and three casinos..."

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