SeaWorld CEO is gone and layoffs to be announced Dec 12

[FLOIR]

The announcement just came out that the SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment CEO is being replaced. Also is in the press release is that more layoffs at the park level will be announced on Friday Dec 12.

Hopefully they will only cut back office staff, and no one that guests see in the park. At least that way the impact to the guest is minimal. It will still be a huge blow to those who lose their job 2 weeks before Christmas, obviously.

 

[livndisney]

The announcement just came out that the SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment CEO is being replaced. Also is in the press release is that more layoffs at the park level will be announced on Friday Dec 12.

Hopefully they will only cut back office staff, and no one that guests see in the park. At least that way the impact to the guest is minimal. It will still be a huge blow to those who lose their job 2 weeks before Christmas, obviously.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/seaworld-ceo-out-company-announces-layoffs/30184714

The CEO is not "gone". "Atchison will serve as vice chairman of the board, oversee the company's conservation fund and will also be a consultant, officials said."

This is not the first time Sea World Orlando has done layoffs in December.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

Maybe they'll lay off the whales (set them free)

 

[FLOIR]

The CEO is not "gone". "Atchison ...how will this affect the product in the park.

 

[sunshine1]

i think it will be mean big changes for SeaWorld and park goers.

Ric O Barry - who captured dolphins and trained the Dolphins from the tv show Flipper - now doesnt agree with dolphin/orca captivity has said that he is 'officially' going to apply for the job.

SeaWorld need saving and quick. Their shares have dropped again.

Interesting times in Theme Park Land.

 

[livndisney]

Check out some of the headlines, including in the one you linked. The phrases "OUT", "resignation", "steps down", being replaced" and other similar words are used. I don't recall where, but one story also used the word "gone" which is why I used it.

This may have been a face-saving move, to allow Jim to step down gracefully, but companies don't replace the CEO the day before layoffs are announced and have it be a coincidence. While he is moving on to tasks, I would be willing to bet that within a year he is no longer vice chairman, and within 2 years he has no titles with SeaWorld at all.

With the problems that SeaWorld has faced during his time as CEO I can't see them keeping him for long.

The main question - how will this affect the product in the park.

Or you could read the quote I included. I will say this-I have been "gone" (left) several jobs in my career. I was never paid 440,000.00 a year for three years as a consult fee. To me, the words used are intended to grab attention and give a negative impression. Few people actually read past the headline; especially where Sea World is concerned.

 

[sunshine1]

I have read that seaworld shares have dropped again to $15.75 a share - their lowest ever.

Interesting times!

I wonder if SeaWorld will change their business model or keep going down the route that they are going?

 

[919Florida]

Ok so I want to clear up some points here.

Do not go by what the media is trying to tell you. They all hate SeaWorld anyways and will do everything they can to paint the place in a negative light. Read official statements by SeaWorld not the made up junk by the media. According to the official SeaWorld press release Jim will still have quite a role with the company. He is not leaving. Also in the press release it does not say the words that Jim is resigning like the media says he is or that he is leaving.

1. Jim Atchison, who will become Vice Chairman of the Board
2. Mr. Atchison will serve as a consultant to the Company with respect to international expansion and the Company's conservation initiatives
3. Mr. Atchison will serve as the chairman of the board of the not-for-profit, independent SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund.

As for the other poster here who was using Ric O Barry as an example. Lets just remember who Ric O Barry is. He is a a convicted animal abuser. O'Barry was convicted of mistreating two dolphins in his care and then tossing them into the ocean when the authorities were coming to save them.

While SeaWorld's shares have been down lets take note in knowing they are not in fact at 16.75 like the previous user posted. It closed at 16.09 yesterday and as of right now is at $16.74. SeaWorld will continue in the same model they are in they will just do a better job of promoting the message of what they are doing. They have nothing to hide. And true fans who go to the park can actually see this with their own eyes.

The layoffs that are planned from what I have heard will not be in areas that guests will notice. Its supposed to remain in behind the scenes areas and salaried roles.

As for anyone who says maybe they will set the whales free. Obviously they do not have the best interest of the orcas in mind because setting them free would be an instant death sentence.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

As for anyone who says maybe they will set the whales free. Obviously they do not have the best interest of the orcas in mind because setting them free would be an instant death sentence.

Thank you! Those whales don't know how to live in the wild. They are used to a controlled environment where the water temps don't fluctuate much and there is always ample food available at regular intervals. Out in the wild they wouldn't even have a family pod to join to offer them guidance and some protection.

 

[sunshine1]

As for anyone who says maybe they will set the whales free. Obviously they do not have the best interest of the orcas in mind because setting them free would be an instant death sentence.

i dont know of any animal activist who wants to just 'set the whales free' - that is crazy!

There is an in between option which is much better: seapens. The whales would still have 'human care' yet have much more space, learn how to hunt again and get to feel the ocean water and rhythms of the sea.

I agree that media can be biased - but cant SeaWorld be biased to 'protect' its brand also?

919Florida - do you think Seaworld are in 'trouble' or is this just a shifting of people at the top?

 

[919Florida]

i dont know of any animal activist who wants to just 'set the whales free' - that is crazy!

There is an in between option which is much better: seapens. The whales would still have 'human care' yet have much more space, learn how to hunt again and get to feel the ocean water and rhythms of the sea.

I agree that media can be biased - but cant SeaWorld be biased to 'protect' its brand also?

919Florida - do you think Seaworld are in 'trouble' or is this just a shifting of people at the top?

I don't think SeaWorld is in trouble. I just feel its a re-shifting of priorities and leaders at the top. The company as a whole still has a large fan base who supports them. I want to see them continue on just the way they are now.

As for setting the whales free I was not referring to you on that. It was the post by NYDisneyKid.

As for Sea pens its really not a good answer. Sea Pens expose the whales to the same waters that wild populations are bound to be carrying strains of infectious agents that captive populations have no immunity against and vice versa. There are big dangers of microbial pathogens. An excellent and relevant example of a virus mutating amongst populations and crossing regions is the cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV). Large-scale mortality caused by this virus is not a new occurrence and there have been novel strains that are phylogenetically distinct even within the same body of water. Simply stated, the morbillivirus is mutating and evolving to survive as microbes on Earth have done for billions of years. strains of CeMV have been found in cetacean mortalities in the Indian Ocean, Indo-Pacific regions, the eastern and western Atlantic, and the eastern and western coasts of Australia. It has spanned multiple regions and adapted to infect varied marine mammal species over the last few decades. Recent studies hypothesize that current Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico populations are at risk of infection as older individuals that are immune, either from exposure or antibodies received while nursing, begin to die off. It would seem they are on the right track as over 1300 cetaceans in these regions have been found dead or stranded, testing positive for CeMV, from July 1, 2013 to June 29, 2014.