Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City is laying off 85% of its workers as the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on its business.

The 5-star luxury hotel is also closing down four floors of its multi-storey structure to cut down operational cost.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, disclosed this on the floor of Parliament late Friday night.

“For a hotel like Kempinski which has about 400 workers, they are letting 340 go home. They are closing about four floors of that hotel… And those become really difficult moments.

“It is a sobering moment… we do get panic attacks as we wake up thinking of how best to do it,” he told parliamentarians.

The Minister said as a result of the Covid-9 pandemic, some players in the hospitality industry are going through difficult times as occupancy rate has dropped to between 5%and 20%.

“Some companies are laying off up to 90% of their employees… And there are issues of job losses that we have to contend with… It is time to look at unemployment benefits,” Mr Ofori Atta said.

He announced that the government will roll out a new initiative called the Covid Care and Re-Vitalisation of Enterprises Programme to support struggling businesses.

He said the new programme will work to ensure small scale enterprises (SMEs), micro small-scale institutions and big industries get some relief.

Currently, the Greater Accra area and other parts of the country are on lockdown with businesses closed and individuals forced to stay at home.