The Trump Organization has requested bailout funds from the U.K and Ireland to help pay the salaries of workers at its three golf courses in Scotland and Ireland, while in the U.S., where it is legally barred from seeking such aid, the company has furloughed 2,000 employees.
Owned beneficially by President Donald Trump, but run day-to-day by his two eldest sons, the Trump Organization has not been immune to the economic chaos caused by shutdowns in the coronavirus pandemic.
Heavily dependent on travel and tourism for income, the company’s core hotel and golf businesses have been hard hit, foregoing an estimated $1 million a day in lost revenue, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In America, the federal law governing the national bailout specifically prohibits the Trump Organization from taking any government aid, including loans to cover the payroll of employees during the shutdown.
Consequently, Trump properties across the nation have furloughed more than 2,000 workers without pay.
Trump properties across the nation have furloughed more than 2,000 workers without pay
At the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York City 70 workers were furloughed
At the Trump International Hotel in DC, 237 workers were furloughed. The Trump Organization is asking for a rent break from the federal government, which owns the building
Trump International Hotel Las Vegas has furloughed 552 workers in the coronavirus crisis
No such legal restrictions on aid exist in Europe, where the Trump Organization operates golf courses and resorts in Aberdeen and Turnberry in Scotland, and Doonbeg in Ireland.
The company is seeking government aid to pay most of the salaries of bartenders, bagpipers and other employees at the European locations, according to Bloomberg.
Though there’s nothing improper about the company seeking aid in Europe, it has drawn criticism from some quarters.
‘The huge tab for this will be borne throughout the whole population through higher taxes,’ Martin Ford, an elected official in Aberdeen and longtime critic of the Trump resort there, told Bloomberg.
‘If what he says about his personal wealth is true, Trump doesn’t need the money, and I don’t see why U.K. taxpayers of the future should be helping him out.’
The Trump resort in Doonbeg, Ireland is seen. Trump Organization is requesting public funds in Europe to pay furloughed employees, which it is barred from doing in the US
Trump plays golf at his Aberdeen, Scotland club in a file photo. Trump Organization is also requesting funds through the UK assistance program
Trump Turnberry Hotel and Golf Resort is the company’s other location in Scotland
The U.K. formally launched a program on Monday to cover 80 percent of workers’ salaries capped at 2,500 pounds, or roughly $3,100, and has been flooded with applications.
A similar Irish wage subsidy program, which has been up and running for several weeks, covers 70 percent of furloughed staff’s weekly take-home pay, subject to a cap, as long as they’re kept on the payroll.
In both countries, companies must apply for the aid on behalf of their workers, and are encouraged to make up the difference between the aid and workers’ regular salary. It’s unclear whether the Trump Organization has committed to cover that difference.
Although it is blocked from receiving federal aid in the U.S., the company is asking the federal government to modify the terms of the long-term lease it holds on the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC, according to the New York Times.
In Chicago, the Trump International Hotel and Tower has furloughed 296 employees
Mar-a-Lago, closed under government orders, has put 153 employees on furlough
Trump National Doral Miami has put 560 workers on furlough during the crisis
The Trump Organization pays roughly $268,000 a month, or $3 million a year, to the Government Services Administration for the use of the federally owned building that the hotel is located inside.
Now, the company is asking the government for any relief that it might be granting other federal tenants
‘Just treat us the same,’ Eric Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. ‘Whatever that may be is fine.’
The Trump International in DC has furloughed 237 employees without pay during the pandemic, according to public records.
In other cities, Trump hotels have furloughed 296 employees in Chicago, 552 employees in Las Vegas, and 70 in New York.
Trump Organization golf clubs have also furloughed 102 workers in Potomac Falls, Virginia, 117 in Los Angeles, and 560 at Trump National Doral Miami.
Mar-a-Lago, also shut down by government order, has furloughed 153 employees.
Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles furloughed 117 employees, public records show
Trump National Golf Club Washington DC furloughed 102 workers
As it copes with the financial strain of the pandemic, the Trump Organization has also reportedly tried to delay its loan payments.
The New York Times said the Trump Organization contacted Deutsche Bank, seen as the only major lender willing to do business with the company, at the end of March to ask about extending some repayment deadlines.
‘These days, everybody is working together,’ Trump’s son Eric, the Organization’s executive vice president, said in a statement.
‘Tenants are working with landlords — landlords are working with banks. The whole world is working together as we fight through this pandemic,’ the statement continued.
The Trump Organization still owes Deutsche Bank several hundred million dollars, according to the Times.
The group, whose main business is real estate development, also contacted Palm Beach County to see if it could suspend rent payments on land occupied by the Trump International Golf Club, a 27-hole course and clubhouse on more than 120 hectares.
Negotiations have so far not led to any change in the financial conditions of the Trump Organization.
Eric Trump and his brother Donald Jr took over the organization after their father’s inauguration.