YMCA to layoff over 300 in COVID’s wake

By Patrick Lynn

More than part-time workers will temporarily lose their jobs at the Stevens Point Area YMCA.

According to a notice filed on March 31 with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, the YMCA will layoff 324 employees, one full-time worker, and 323 part-timers.

The YMCA is one of several businesses forced closed by Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order, which effectively closed all gyms and gathering spaces in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“The business closure is in response to the unforeseeable circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to be temporary, although the precise duration of the closure cannot be determined at this time,” the notice reads.

To date, it is the largest coronavirus-related lay-off announced by a single company in Portage Co. The Holiday Inn & Convention Center announced on March 24 it was temporarily laying off 143 employees.

Under state law, a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice must be filed when a mass layoff occurs at a business with 100 or more employees.