The news media reported today that Royal Caribbean Cruises plans to lay off and furloughing a significant number of employees based in the United States.

Miami Herald said that the company plans to reduce its workforce by 26 percent, or about 1300 employees across Florida, Wichita, Kansas, and Springfield, through a combination of permanent layoffs and 90-day furloughs with paid benefits.

The layoffs are a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. that has shut down the cruise industry impacting all cruise lines across the world. The cruise industry has been under a voluntary shutdown since March and faced additional 100-day no-sail order pushing the potential resumption of the cruise industry’s operations until late July.