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More than 17,500 hourly employees and around 50% of the corporate team behind Cinemark are finding themselves unemployed this morning as the mega-theater chain announced the cuts as part of a larger plan to save the company yesterday afternoon.

According to Biz Journals, the Plano, Texas-based chain has been effectively shut down since March 18th due to the Coronavirus pandemic crisis.  Now, in order to keep the company afloat, Cinemark has released the bulk of their workforce.  Corporate employees who have been furloughed seem to have fared far better than the hourly workers, as they have been able to retain benefits and 20% of their salary.  The few remaining employees will have their pay cut in half.

The company, which operates theaters baring the Cinemark name along with Century, Tinseltown and Rave, operates 554 theaters nationwide.  In a bit of good news for the company and it's employees - Not only are the remaining corporate executives taking voluntary pay cuts (CEO Mark Zoradi gave up a whopping 80% of his pay), but representatives with the company say that they will be able to "sustain operations for the rest of the year."  As long as we emerge from this crisis before then, we will still have a silver screen to watch our favorite movies on.

 

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