Macau Business Magazine has a chilling front page article in their December 2008 issue called “You’re Fired – Expat Exodus” about the mass exodus of Expats working in Macau. You can read the original article at: http://www.macaubusiness.com/index.php?id=1451

Overview from Macau Business Magazine
The wave of lay-offs that has hit the expat community has left a bad taste in the mouth. The whiff of betrayal is in the air and for many, there will be no coming back.

Excerpts:

• When a bluecard is withdrawn (making it illegal for expats to work in Macau) they have 10 days to exit.
• The first big cuts happened in early November 2008 on the Cotai Strip. There was mass panic among expats. In mid November the Venetian laid off 11,000 constructions workers as it halted work on the Cotai strip. In late November or early December many entertainers at the Venetian were let go. Many of these workers had already been here for a couple years and had relocated from their home countries.
• There are rumors of “ill feeling” between LVS and the Macau Government. Some feel the world economy is being used as an excuse to purge Macau of expats.
• The darkest “conspiracy theory” hints that the Macau Government is a slow moving vulture with it’s eye on the Cotai Strip, Adelson and the Venetian.
• Conservative Macau lawmakers are getting high praise for returning jobs to local Macanese, while expats cannot understand where they are going to get local employees with the necessary skills and experience to replace their jobs.
• Rent prices, local supermarkets and shop prices skyrocketed with the mass influx of expats with large disposable incomes. The local Macanese hope that with the exodus of expats the prices will begin to lower again.
• It is rumored that no bluecards will be renewed for casino floor managers so all positions will be held by local Macanese within the year.
• Businesses are preferring to hire local Macanese to stay in good graces with the government.
• From the article: “During Macau’s boom we reached out for their help but when crisis struck, they were first for the chop. Conservative lawmakers want their heads and guaranteed jobs for locals. The clamour to sack foreign workers can verge on the xenophobic.”
• Quote from a local: ““I am very happy to see so many foreigners going home.”
• Official statistics from June show there are 98,505 non-resident workers in Macau – 13,713 of them in the construction sector.
• As of October 3, 2008 new applications to hire non-local workers in the construction sector will not be accepted.
• “Changing the rules when the game has already started is not pretty”
• The growth in foreign investment in Macau was “too fast” and  “unhealthy”

The Chinese government has increased it’s visa restrictions for local Chinese over the border visiting Macau. I have heard two takes on this. I have heard that it’s part of the Chinese government making sure it’s economy doesn’t slip into Macau hands. I have also heard it’s part of throttling the growth in Macau to keep it under control. The growth here is staggering and construction is immense. Most say the infrastructure has not had a chance to catch up with development. The restrictions by the Chinese government may well be part of a long term vision to ensure stability from a long term approach.

I have been told that while for a Western the phrase “long term” might mean 5 years; to the Chinese that may mean 20 years. So planning long term is indeed long term.

So what do I think? I’m an expat, it’s not my country. It’s up to Macau and their government to do what’s best for Macau. I can accept that.

“11,000 To Lose Casino Jobs in Macau” – front page featured news at CNN.com today. They are referring specifically to the Sands Venetian.

Well now, not the best news for us working at the Venetian in Macau – but insiders have known it was coming. The dream to make Macau the Vegas of Asia does not come without an element of risk. Granted, Macau IS currently the largest gambling destination in the world, having already surpassed Las Vegas. But a 12 billion or so development project (just to START) by the Sands is monstrous.

There are things I can say and things I can’t say. But about the mood of us over here working at the Venetian? Some are a little nervous wondering what the future brings, and others see ourselves as pioneers like the old Wild West. Not everyone made it in those wagon trains…

Me? I’m of the pioneer mindset. I follow paths to see where they lead. Sometimes it’s fun to do that, sometimes it’s not. But I can’t live without knowing which it is – so I’m in.

I believe in the vision of Adelson – and I think he will stop at nothing to see it through. And I believe in the vision of Cirque Du Soleil. I don’t mind bumps in the road – it tells me I’m still above ground…

CNN Article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/11/13/macaus.sands.ap/index.html

EXCERPT:

The Macau sites, which have cost $1.16 billion so far, are part of the company’s $13 billion master plan in Cotai. Sands is trying to arrange between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in financing to continue building in Macau, but Weaver said it’s not clear how long that will take or when construction might resume, though he’s confident it will.

“We’ve got $1.2 billion sunk in to the ground, we’re not going to walk away from it,” he said. “I think there’s no possibility that it’s never going to start again.”

Weaver wouldn’t rule out further layoffs in Macau.

“We can’t promise that there won’t be people that ultimately are laid off,” he said. “But at this point no decision has been made.”