Six Flags and Cedar Fair Merge

[BeeastFarmer]

 

See text below.  For some reason, the URL would not paste into this post.

Not to sound like a harbinger of bad news, but I don't think this will be isolated to Cedar Point.  I think they will cut this bonus out at the legacy Cedar Fair parks that offered it.  IIRC, KI also did this.

The potential loss of seasoned employees will further erode the guest experience.  I shudder to think how cutting wages at the legacy Six Flags parks will shake out.

 

It's a fine line, and I don't want to violate KIC TOS, so @IndyGuy4KIplease moderate or edit the following as you see fit:

I am typically for free market driven initiatives.  This is that.  But they are driving so much to get the synergies promised to shareholders/unitholders.  How much further will they degrade the guest experience?  

 

Cedar Point cuts pay

By Justin Dietz
Special to the Register

Jan 15, 2025 3:00 PM

Editor’s note: Justin Dietz is a Register correspondent representing cpfoodblog.com and @funfoodblog on X.

SANDUSKY — Some Cedar Point employees will be experiencing a 25% drop in pay for the upcoming season.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Cedar Point struggled to find employees when the park began to reopen.

At that point, the park increased payroll by offering to hire new employees at $20 per hour, something it promoted substantially. Pay consisted of $15 per hour plus an added $5-per-hour bonus that later became known as legacy pay.

Some other seasonal employees who have worked at the park for years also received the pay increase.

While pay for new hires at Cedar Point continued to fall post-COVID, employees hired under the legacy pay structure have continued to receive the hourly bonus if they returned each year up through the 2024 season.

This month, however, returning employees hired under legacy pay have been notified that the $5-per-hour pay bump is going away.

The Register has received several messages from employees that Six Flags, the new parent company following the 2024 merger, has cut employees' pay effective immediately. Employees are now expected to return to work at their base hourly pay.

Since most of the 5,000 summer jobs at Cedar Point are considered seasonal, those employees do not earn overtime pay. Seasonal employees who chose to stay at Cedar Point dorms also pay roughly $300 to $500 per month for accommodations.

Due to already low local staffing levels, Cedar Point relies heavily on the J-1 Visa program to hire seasonal help to staff the park. Hiring international workers allows the park to avoid paying taxes on their wages. In addition, since foreign workers have to be sponsored, it is much harder for them to leave the job once they have arrived. J-1 workers also pay their sponsor a fee to work in the U.S.

 

[disco2000]

^I guess the register isn't gonna be invited to media day (but they already knew that) 

[DJSkyFoxx]

That was a tough read. Not surprising, but its really deplorable. Funny how it's always the boots on the ground that get hosed but of course the CEO and upper management never see a pay cut or feel the burn. These people never seem to realize that they wouldn't even have a job if every employee that actually works directly at these parks chose not to show up. If it were possible for them to unionize, I'd say fight for that. 

Lowering pay is just going to create more staff shortages and less incentive to do the job the way they are expected to. Who wants to run circles all day long being yelled at, assaulted and demeaned for less money than before? No benefits. No protections. Nah. Granted I realize most of these jobs are filled by high school/college and retirees, but that doesn't mean they deserve any less respect for what they do all day. Long hours in the heat, rain, cold just to make sure you are safe on a ride. To make sure you are safe in the park. To make sure you have food and drink. And less quality experience for the consumer. Sounds like a solid plan. But lets continue to line the pockets of those way above the ones that actually bust their tails to keep these places open.

[Outdoor Man]

It's a difficult conversation to have and one that will be tricky at best to play through (not just for SF) for companies. When the pandemic hit, people were content to sit at home and collect $$ from the government - some continued after the COVID threat had subsided.  This forced companies like SF, CF, Disney, Universal, etc... to bait potential employees with higher pay- almost a bidding war with the government- to entice people to come back to work. ie- scarcity drives up the price.  

This also caused that nasty term, "inflation."  I was in a conversation with someone back in 2021 when our family bill at Chipotle was $28.56 - and told them that you can't just increase the rate of pay from $9/hr to $15+/hr and it not affect prices.  They were CERTAIN it would not.  That same order at Chipotle today is $44.74.  

Bringing this back to the Kings Island's of the world, and their peers- this brings the rate of pay back down to where the market will bear it. Tracked out over a 50 week year, if it were full time, most of the jobs at the seasonal level are not $40,000/year jobs.   If they were to keep pay at those rates... be prepared for higher prices of everything at the parks, moreso. 

If other companies do this, a new term is entered: "Deflation."  Which could also bring along it's cousin "Stagflation."  THEN: welcome to the post-Carter 1980s.

[Tr0y]

1 hour ago, Outdoor Man said:

It's a difficult conversation to have and one that will be tricky at best to play through (not just for SF) for companies. When the pandemic hit, people were content to sit at home and collect $$ from the government - some continued after the COVID threat had subsided.  This forced companies like SF, CF, Disney, Universal, etc... to bait potential employees with higher pay- almost a bidding war with the government- to entice people to come back to work. ie- scarcity drives up the price.  

This also caused that nasty term, "inflation."  I was in a conversation with someone back in 2021 when our family bill at Chipotle was $28.56 - and told them that you can't just increase the rate of pay from $9/hr to $15+/hr and it not affect prices.  They were CERTAIN it would not.  That same order at Chipotle today is $44.74.  

Bringing this back to the Kings Island's of the world, and their peers- this brings the rate of pay back down to where the market will bear it. Tracked out over a 50 week year, if it were full time, most of the jobs at the seasonal level are not $40,000/year jobs.   If they were to keep pay at those rates... be prepared for higher prices of everything at the parks, moreso. 

If other companies do this, a new term is entered: "Deflation."  Which could also bring along it's cousin "Stagflation."  THEN: welcome to the post-Carter 1980s.

Yep, and Six Flags has kept the season pass prices incredibly cheap. 

[disco2000]

Just now, Tr0y said:

Yep, and Six Flags has kept the season pass prices incredibly cheap. 

It always amazes me the approach the chain makes - added WF and the passes didn't substantially increase.

Give away 2 seasons for the price of one during covid and significantly increased associate pay and the price of the pass didn't substantially increase.

Price of everything has gone up in recent years, except pass and add-on prices (certainly not to the extent of other goods and services).

They have found the model of quantity over quality works.  Sure there are some that don't renew because they say the quality went down, etc., but they always make up those that don't renew with new pass sales.

[DonHelbig]

9 hours ago, disco2000 said:

^I guess the register isn't gonna be invited to media day (but they already knew that) 

Fair reporting, the media just doing their job, it's just unacceptable by some of the people that make those decisions as to who is and who isn't invited to media day.