Six Flags Will Begin Hiring Thousands as Theme Parks Reopen

Six Flags Entertainment Corp will hire thousands of workers this year as it prepares to reopen its theme parks after pandemic-induced shutdowns, thanks to COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.

The company, known for roller coaster rides such as the El Toro, Batman the Ride and Bizarro, said on Friday it was planning on reopening all of its 26 theme parks in North America and that it would hire workers for its parks virtually.

Arlington, Texas-based Six Flags Entertainment was forced to shut some parks in 2020 and operate others at minimum capacity as rising COVID-19 cases prompted restrictions across the country.

That forced the theme park operator to cut its full-time workforce by about 10% in October.

Walt Disney Co also laid off more than thirty thousand workers last year and had to close its theme parks for a second time as cases rose in Paris and Southern California.

Six Flags Entertainment said it was working with state and government officials to set reopening dates for parks in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Mexico City and Canada.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)

This article was from Reuters and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.