Bartenders, bagpipers, and other workers at The Trump Organisation are likely to be furloughed as US President Donald Trump’s family business is seeking coronavirus relief package from the UK government to save loss-making golf-courses. His two eldest sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr, run two luxury resorts in Scotland. Since the lockdown began last month, both the properties - International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire and Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire - are shut.
Under the job retention scheme, the UK government pays 80 per cent of staff wages up to £2,500 a month, if they are unable to work because of a pandemic. According to a report, Eric said that any application for government cash was “solely about protecting people and their families who would otherwise be out of work”.
“Like millions of businesses around the globe, we have been forced by a government mandate to close our hospitality and leisure facilities temporarily, and are doing all that we can to retain and support our highly valued staff,” Eric said in a statement.
A similar statement was issued by Sarah Malone, executive vice president of the Aberdeenshire resort. “We are no different from any other business, including many media companies. This has nothing to do with Trump and does not benefit the business," she said.
According to a report, Trump’s Doonbeg resort in Ireland has confirmed it is accessing the government scheme in that country. “We’ve laid off a majority of our staff,” managing director Joe Russell was quoted as saying. “We are ensuring they’re looked after in terms of the government schemes that are available.”
In the US, media reports suggest that Trump’s family business has been barred from claiming federal aid under the coronavirus stimulus approved by Congress last month and is believed to be losing more than $1m (£8m) in revenue every day. More than 2,000 workers at Trump properties across the US have been laid off or furloughed without pay.
According to a report, Trump Hotel in Washington DC was seeking $3m relief on the annual rent that it pays to the US General Services Administration for the use of a government-owned former post office.
