SeaWorld hires new employees

Company says terminated workers can apply for restructured jobs.

SeaWorld Entertainment is in hiring mode shortly after it permanently laid off about 1,900 furloughed employees in Orlando and 1,000 in Tampa Bay earlier this month.

SeaWorld spokeswoman Lori Cherry said the company encourages terminated employees to reapply and hopes they fill up the majority of the new positions. It comes as the company undergoes a restructuring that changes job descriptions and whether positions are full time or part time. The company also is hiring more for the upcoming holidays.

On its company corporate career website, the company is advertising 20 new Orlando jobs in bartending, food service, animal care, theatrical services and other fields, areas where SeaWorld Entertainment had mass terminations earlier this month, according to a notification the Orlandbased company filed with the state.

SeaWorld has faced criticism from furloughed employees who were upset how SeaWorld treated them during the coronavirus pandemic. Some hadn’t been back to work since the Orlando theme parks closed March 16 during the coronavirus pandemic.

Their hopes to return officially ended when the company laid off 1,900 furloughed employees at SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando and Discovery Cove.

“While we were able to bring thousands of furloughed Ambassadors back to work and hoped to bring back everyone, the current environment requires us to set up the company for long term success. SeaWorld has determined that it must transition certain park and corporate personnel from a furloughed status to a permanent layoff,” Cherry said in an earlier statement. “We are sorry to have to part ways with any

team members in this difficult moment, but their abiding commitment to our guests, fellow ambassadors and animals is recognized and made a lasting impact.”

Some of the SeaWorld job openings also appeared on Indeed.com and other job board websites this week.

In Orlando, the majority of the nearly 20 posted jobs are fulltime hourly positions although a few are part-time and two are salaried, including an environmental, health and safety director.

The pay rates were not listed on the job advertisements.

The greater Orlando’s unemployment rate is the highest in the state at 11%, according to August figures from the state.