Amway Hotel Corporation to Lay off 580 Grand Rapids Employees

Working downtown Grand Rapids, I've seen first-hand the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. For so long, it was like a ghost town. So strange to see the streets of downtown completely empty on a Friday night. While it has started to pick up some, it's obvious the businesses that operate here have been hit hard, and that includes hotels.

This economic hardship has lead to Grand Rapids' Amway Hotel Corporation announcing they are laying off hundreds of employees.

Wood TV 8 reports that AHC will lay off 580 employees at 4 area hotels:

• Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, located at 187 Monroe Avenue NW in Grand Rapids, will lay off 355 employees.
• JW Marriott, located at 235 Louis Street NW in Grand Rapids, will lay off 144 employees.
• Courtyard by Marriott, located at 11 Monroe Avenue NW in Grand Rapids, will lay off 50 employees.
• AC Hotel, located at 50 Monroe Avenue NW in Grand Rapids, will lay off 31 employees.

The layoffs are expected to happen July 31st.

ACH said in a letter to the state:

“The foregoing separations are expected to be temporary, but given the unpredictable nature of this pandemic we cannot accurately predict at this point when or if employees may be recalled."