Casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd says it has adopted a share purchase and award programme open to staff at management level that agreed in 2020 – during the height of disruption to Macau tourism amid the Covid-19 pandemic – to participate in the company’s voluntary leave scheme.
The firm added that the initiative would provide the group’s eligible employees with the “opportunity to benefit from the company’s long-term growth.” The scheme aims to “recognise the dedication and commitment” of the group’s employees, stated the company in a Thursday press release.
In a separate filing, the firm also said the programme aimed to encourage vaccination against Covid-19 among its management staff, and to “continue to proactively manage costs.”
It said the programme covers eligible management employees “who agreed in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, to participate in the company’s voluntary leave programme.” The release did not specify how many workers were eligible for the award scheme, which runs from July 2021 to June 2022.
In that period, the relevant Melco Resorts’ employees can use a portion their base salary “to purchase and receive a grant of restricted shares under the Melco Resorts 2011 share incentive plan, with an aggregate value equal to 200 percent of the amount of base salary, so applied as at the grant date”.
The statement clarified that the maximum amount of restricted shares which may be issued under the new scheme “represents less than 0.50 percent of the company’s total shares outstanding as of July 8, 2021”.
The release quoted Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of Melco Resorts, as saying: “The share purchase and award programme demonstrates our recognition of the dedication and commitment our colleagues have demonstrated during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.”
He added: “As the pandemic gradually subsides, we would like to extend our gratitude and appreciation to all our colleagues and ensure they have the chance to capitalise on the long-term growth of the company.”
Melco Resorts, operator of the City of Dreams casino resort (pictured) in Macau, launched in 2020 programmes that offered special-leave arrangements for its staff. That was part of a “series of measures taken by the company to proactively manage costs in the face of the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” said the firm in Thursday’s release.
In May this year, Melco Resorts said it had launched multiple voluntary programmes designed to help those of its staff with Macau ID to “reach personal and professional objectives.” The measures include a voluntary exit scheme for its staff, the firm stated.
