THE Regal Hotels chain sacked 126 workers yesterday after failing to win support for a radical unpaid leave scheme.
And Furama Hotel management warned 'streamlining' options were being considered at the five-star establishment in Central, but it said no final decisions had been made.
Furama staff said rumours that up to 200 workers would be sacked were now rampant despite 80 per cent occupancy in recent weeks.
About 30 Regal staff were laid off from each of the group's four and five-star hotels at Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui East, the airport and Sha Tin.
Managers expressed disappointment that employees had rejected their attempts to stave off redundancies through the voluntary unpaid leave scheme.
'Unfortunately, much to our disappointment, such well-intended efforts were misunderstood and erroneously interpreted by the staff concerned, whose response was generally negative,' the company said.
A preliminary survey showed just 10 per cent of the 2,500 staff were prepared to take unpaid time off.
