Cineplex is temporarily laying off 5,000 part-time employees because of mandated closures of movie theatres in Ontario as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 surges across the province.
New COVID-19 public health measures announced by Ontario Premier Doug Ford resulted in the closure of 67 Cineplex theatres along with indoor concert venues, museums, galleries and other attractions.
The provincial restrictions also require restaurants and bars to halt indoor dining and cease selling alcohol after 10 p.m. The policies meant to curtail the province's soaring COVID-19 cases are expected to remain in place until at least January 26.
The Toronto-based company said it would offer full refunds to customers who had booked tickets in advance of the movie theatre closures.
Cineplex also said in a news release that it will rehire the employees once the current restrictions in Canada’s most populous province are lifted.
