MASSES of staff at a new luxury hotel were made redundant just days before Christmas and bosses refuse to confirm if they will be paid, workers claim.
Virgin Hotels Glasgow will close after just four months with bosses telling 150 employees at a video meeting and in person on Tuesday afternoon.
Workers were asked to log into a meeting at noon with James Bermingham, CEO of Virgin Hotels.
They claim they were told the hotel was closing and staff were made redundant with immediate effect.
One worker told the Glasgow Times: "The biggest question was, are we going to get paid?
"We usually get paid at the end of the month but for December it would be December 29.
"They couldn't answer that question. It's caused a lot of anxiety and a lot of upset.
"To add fuel to the fire, they said some would get paid but they wouldn't elaborate."
"It was absolute chaos," one former worker added.
Others claim the move to let go of staff was "appalling" and were told they wouldn't find out until tomorrow afternoon whether they would be compensated.
In an email, Bermingham told staff: "Virgin Group and the owners are committed to ensuring you are paid for every day you have worked this month.
"The team will work through the details with you.
"We are also happy to connect you with other Virgin companies if and when job opportunities arise in the future."
Former staff claim that their keycards and passes were cancelled so they struggled to access their belongings inside lockers.
They also claimed they were forced to leave from the back of the building and kitchens were locked before the meeting commenced.
A spokesperson for Virgin Group claimed no employee had been escorted from the building and staff were not asked to leave from a specific entrance.
Reservations have been frozen on Virgin Hotels Glasgow's website and it is understood that guests are being rebooked into other hotels.
We previously reported that Lloyds Development Limited, which owns the building of the new Virgin Hotels Glasgow, was forced to enter administration earlier this month.
On Monday, a spokesperson from Virgin Group hit out at a lender who rejected the hotel giant's offer to buy the property.
It has now been confirmed that the firm in charge of running the hotel, V Hotel Glasgow Limited, could not afford to continue.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Unite the Union said: "Our members at Virgin Hotels in Glasgow, have just been informed that the hotel is to close with immediate effect six days before Christmas.
"The CEO flew in from the US but couldn’t even answer whether workers will get paid for hours worked."
A spokesperson for Virgin Hotels said: “Lloyds Developments Limited – the owner of Virgin Hotels Glasgow, which Virgin Hotels has a management contract with – has financial problems and on December 1 its lenders put it into administration.
"As a result, the directors of V Hotel Glasgow Ltd, the employer and operating company in respect of the hotel, are being advised by FRP Advisory LLP as they place that company into liquidation.
"These financial issues mean that the hotel cannot continue operating and now has to close.
They added: “Virgin Group tried to find solutions, including offering to purchase the hotel, to keep the hotel open, keep the team in employment and ensure the completion of the development of the hotel, creating something Glasgow could be proud of.
"Unfortunately, the lenders have not accepted Virgin's offers and intend to pursue a sales process with the hotel closed.
"Virgin Hotels is very disappointed by this decision after the hard work everyone has put into the hotel and because of the impact it will have on the team that works there.
“Virgin Hotels' heartfelt thanks and gratitude are to those employees, suppliers and guests who have been integral to the hotel’s launch in the City of Glasgow.
“The Virgin Hotels team continues to have great ambitions for managing the hotel in Glasgow and looks forward to re-opening once a new owner is in place.
"No other Virgin hotel is impacted – all other Virgin Hotels remain open and operating as normal as all Virgin Hotels are independently owned.”
A spokesperson for the joint interim managers, Blair Nimmo and Geoff Jacobs of Interpath Advisory, said: "It’s important to note that the company over which the interim managers are appointed does not have any employees, and that the interim managers have had no involvement in the operations of the hotel.
"It is our understanding that the company which ran the hotel, V Hotel Glasgow Limited, had insufficient funds to ensure that ongoing operations could continue."
