Nov. 01–Starwood Hotels has told the state it plans to lay off 163 employees in Stamford by the end of the year.
Starwood Hotels, which was lured to Connecticut from White Plains, N.Y. by Gov. M. Jodi Rell with a more than $80 million incentives package, was bought by Marriott in September.
Marriott notified the state Department of Labor by letter on Friday that there would be a mass layoff of "approximately 163 employees," and said the layoffs are "most likely at the close of business on Dec. 31."
The layoffs include some rank and file workers, such as administrative assistants, executive assistants and specialists in supply chain, design and brand management. But most of the layoffs are for managers, directors, vice presidents and senior vice presidents.
"They're all senior management," said Thomas Madden, Stamford's economic development director.
Starwood's letter to the state said that the employees have been informed that Marriott, which is based outside of Washington, D.C., will be posting jobs "in the coming weeks for which they may apply."
Spokeswoman Felicia McLemore declined to say how many people work in Stamford, or whether there will be more rounds of layoffs in 2017.
"When we announced the merger in November 2015, we said that there would be some duplication of functions — mostly at the corporate level," McLemore said in a statement released Monday.
"While we don't have an exact number of jobs that will be impacted in Stamford at this time, we will know more about staffing decisions as we continue the integration process. We anticipate having a presence in Stamford for the foreseeable future; we will begin to explore longer term options and needs now that we have completed the acquisition. We also anticipate that many associates will find new opportunities within the Company and we will be working closely with them through this process."
Officials at the state Department of Economic and Community Development, which in 2014 gave Starwood a $5 million loan in exchange for a promise to increase jobs in Stamford from 980 to 1,320 by the end of 2017, said the state doesn't know how many people work there now. At the end of 2014, the company had reduced its employee count in Stamford to 847.
At that size, Starwood was in the top six largest private employers in town, according to Madden.
Stamford Mayor David Martin issued a statement praising Starwood's consistent support of the Mayor's Youth Employment project.
"While we may be losing Starwood as a corporate citizen, we have companies expanding their offices within Stamford like Indeed.com, Gartner and Synchrony, and companies like Henkel that are moving here from out of state and creating hundreds of jobs," he said. "Stamford remains a great place for companies and businesses of all sizes, and we are working hard to attract and retain companies that will create Stamford jobs long-term."
Starwood redeemed $30 million in tax credits from the original incentives package through the end of last year. It also was given $7 million in loan forgiveness on the $9.5 million loan it received from the state in 2009, which required neither interest nor principal payments through 2019. It cannot apply for any more loan forgiveness, but could apply for as much as $15 million in tax credits this year. It only claimed half that in 2015.
Under the agreement with the state, if Marriott reduces employment at the former Starwood headquarters to fewer than 400 employees before 2019, it would have to pay back all of the state loans from 2009 and 2014, and would have to pay $1.7 million in taxes it avoided through credits. It also could have to pay 7.5 percent back on any tax credits it claims from now until the time it shrinks below 400 workers.
