Recalls from layoffs may indicate local economic recovery from COVID-19

LAKELAND — The Streamsong Resort in southern Polk County offers a ray of hope that the local economy may be pulling out of its COVID-19 pandemic slump as it plans to bring back about 100 employees next month among the 268 people laid off earlier this year.

The workers will return next month as Streamsong reopens two golf courses and two restaurants, said General Manager Richard Mogensen.

“We’re doing fairly well. Bookings are good,” Mogensen said. “Things are starting to look up in the fourth quarter.”

Streamsong was one of five Polk businesses with layoffs of more than 10 people that filed notices under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, requiring a company to post a notice when layoffs meet certain criteria. The notices were filed with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Two other Polk businesses who filed such WARN notices have also rehired — Miller’s Ale House in Lakeland and the Cineopolis movie theater in Davenport. They brought back more than 60 employees from temporary layoffs.

All but one of the layoff actions were related to the pandemic. The exception was the Joyson Safety Systems facility in Lakeland, which will permanently lay off 37 employees.

The Streamsong Resort laid off 200 employees in March as it entered the typically slow spring and summer months, Mogensen said.

It reopened the lodge in early May along with one golf course, called the “Black Course,” and two restaurants, the P2O5 and Bone Valley Tavern restaurants, he said. The resort is owned by fertilizer manufacturer Mosaic Co. and is built on a former phosphate mine site.

Streamsong laid off 68 employees in June because business fell short of expectations, according to the WARN notice.

Streamsong will reopen its Red and Blue golf courses next month along with two other restaurants, Sottoterra and Restaurant 59, Mogensen said.

All four restaurants will operate at 50% capacity, as required by state guidelines, and all facilities are following the COVID-19 guidelines recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, he said.

Streamsong opened the Blue and Red golf courses in December 2012, and the resort hotel and facilities opened in January 2014.

The pandemic hit after Streamsong had experienced a record year in 2019, Mogensen said.

It will probably take a couple years to return to that level, he added.

Miller’s Ale House at 5650 S. Florida Ave. shut down on March 21 and laid off 62 employees, according to its WARN notice.

The restaurant reopened in early May for takeout orders only, then reopened the dining room a month later, General Manager Johnathan Benitez said.

More than 50 of the laid off employees returned, he said. Some had moved out of the area or did not want to return to work for health reasons.

Business has been good and getting better, Benitez said.

The nine-screen Cinepolis theater in the Posner Commons in Davenport shut down on April 3, idling 14 workers, according to its WARN notice.

The theater reopened in late August and brought back 11 workers, said Brian Monahan, the manager.

Ticket sales are “not as much as I would like, but it’s been slow and steady,” he said. “It’s getting better every day.”

The news is not so upbeat for the two other companies who’ve filed WARN notices with more than 10 layoffs in Polk.

Guest Services, a Virginia company managing foodservice operations, filed a notice it will lay off 14 people from its operations at Florida Southern College in Lakeland by Sept. 25. The company did not return calls from The Ledger.

Most of the layoffs will come at the cafeteria and a Steak 'n Shake restaurant, according to the notice. Others will come at small food vendors across campus — the Buck Stop, Cyber Café and Terrace.

None of the facilities will close, said Greg Williams, a Florida Southern spokesman.

The layoffs may be connected to the smaller number of students on campus because of the pandemic, he said.

Florida Southern converted all its dorm rooms to single occupancy, Williams said, and many classes are being offered online.

The Joyson Safety Systems layoffs are not connected to COVID-19, company spokesman Bryan Johnson said from its Auburn Hills, Michigan, headquarters. The company designs and manufactures automotive safety equipment, such as air bags.

The layoffs stem from Joyson’s 2018 purchase of assets from the Japanese company Takata Corp., he said. Takata filed for bankruptcy dissolution that year after it was forced to recall more than 42 million airbag inflators worldwide after many of them deployed improperly.

The purchase led the company to consolidate many of its facilities, Johnson said. The 37 employees worked in designing and manufacturing airbag systems, also done by a Jayson facility in Moses Lake, Washington.

“In the field this technology is in, there’s not enough business to support lines in both facilities,” he said.

The Lakeland facility, which began in the 1980s as Breed Technologies, will employ 108 engineers and technicians after the layoffs are completed by the end of the month, Johnson said.

Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-802-7591.