The Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price is wobbling today. It comes after reports the company is looking at implementing a mandatory COVID vaccination policy for all its staff and visitors to its sites.
At the time of writing, shares in the casino operator are trading for $9.59 — down 0.31%. However, they have been as high as $9.72 in morning trade. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), meanwhile, is 0.25% lower.
Let's take a closer look at today's news.
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Jab for a job
Crown Resorts has announced a "more proactive stance" on jabs and is now mandating it rather than encouraging it among their employees. This news has received a mixed reception from investors – at least, by looking at the Crown share price alone.
According to reports, the group's CEO, Steve McCann, is in talks with his workforce and government departments to create a plan for a vaccine rollout at the company's three locations in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. While the company has not said it will mandate inoculation for patrons, it has not ruled it out either.
In a statement, Crown said it will begin to "urgently consult its stakeholders and employees regarding mandatory vaccination which could apply to all its staff and members of the public who plan to visit or stay at any of its resorts around Australia".
A recent survey conduct by Crown management reportedly shows 60% of its employees were already either fully or partially vaccinated.
Management commentary
McCann said of today's announcement:
At Crown, we care about creating a safe environment for our people and our customers. As such a significant hospitality employer in Australia with resorts that hosted over 30 million visits a year pre-Covid, we need to take measures to help keep people safe. That starts with our employees but also extends to our guests and the broader community.
Covid-19 has devastated the hospitality industry, and that has been felt acutely by our people. Supporting the vaccination target rates set by governments is going to help our industry reopen, stay open and recover faster so we will play our part to help our industry get there. We will continue to explore ways to make it faster and easier for our people to come back to work.
Crown share price snapshot
The Crown share price has had a difficult time recently. All the gains the company saw when first approached about a potential takeover have been wiped out as controversy and uncertainty continue to surround the business.
The Victorian Royal Commission into Crown's gaming licence is due to hand down its findings next month. One option being considered is revoking said licence.
The Crown share price is down 3% year to date but has gained almost 5% over the past 12 months.
Crown Resorts has a market capitalisation of $6.5 billion.
