Extension of park closures until at least mid-May announced by Six Flags

By | March 31, 2020

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: SIX), the world’s largest regional theme park company and the largest operator of waterparks in North America, today announced that all the company’s parks will remain closed until mid-May, or as soon as possible thereafter, reflecting federal and local restrictions in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The company will continue to closely monitor the evolving global health crisis and follow the most current guidance from federal, state, and local officials as it assesses when it can reopen some or all of its parks.

The company also announced it is reducing salaries for all executive officers and team members in an effort to enhance the company’s financial flexibility while it faces the operating and financial impact of COVID-19. Effective April 6, 2020, the company is taking the following measures:

  • Reducing base salaries of executive officers by 25%
  • Reducing salaries of all full-time salaried employees, subject to state and federal minimum thresholds, by 25%
  • Reducing scheduled hours for full-time hourly employees by 25% to 30 hours per week

These changes allow employees to retain their existing health plan coverage at current premiums.

“The safety and well-being of our guests and team members is our most important priority,” said Mike Spanos, President and CEO. “While these actions are difficult for all of us, they will help the company weather the current crisis by reducing expenses. We decided to decrease salaries rather than implement a workforce reduction to ensure our team members have income and health benefits so that Six Flags has an experienced workforce in place when we are in a position to re-open our parks. Our hope is that these measures are only temporary and will help bridge the financial gap the company is facing, in the fairest manner possible, until we can return to normal operations.”