Nearly 1,000 service staff at Rogers Arena will be looking for new jobs at the end of the season.
Canucks Sports and Entertainment is ending its contract with Aramark, the company that provides concession services at Rogers Arena. The changes will take effect June 30.
Aramark is vowing to fight the decision, claiming the contract is valid until 2015. However, in a letter to their employees they said “given the value placed on our employees, we want you to hear about this from us.” They stated they will alert their employees if the situation changes.
The Canucks’ ownership now has plans to launch its own food and beverage business, starting July 1.
Anna Amoroso has worked for Aramark for 10 years. She is a single mother and tells Global News she is devastated by this entire situation.
“It’s kind of like, when you’ve been somewhere for that long, it’s like home, you know,” she said.
“So needless to say, going into work yesterday was pretty gloomy.”
Amoroso said the employees knew the contract was going to be up soon, but they thought it was going to finish in 2015.
“To speak honestly, for the employees, we love our jobs and we just want to stay in the building.”
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“We as employees, we just want our jobs.”
She said there are a lot of families involved and the whole situation is very sad for her. Her father has also worked for Aramark for the past 16 years.
“When you put that much time into a job, or anything in life, you become attached,” she said.
Aramark has released the following statement to Global News:
“Vancouver Arena Limited Partnership notified us of its intent to end our contract to provide food service at Rogers Arena, effective June 30, 2014.
While there is a dispute related to this notice, we believed it was important to inform our employees. Aramark is proud of its partnership with the Canucks and the food and beverage programs we’ve provided at the arena since 1995 to enhance the fan experience.
We are particularly proud of our employees’ dedication and the outstanding service they have delivered at this location.”
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