Biltmore to cut nearly 400 jobs, cites coronavirus pandemic

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – North Carolina’s Biltmore Estate will cut about 390 jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The tourist destination had reopened on a limited basis on May 9, but the lingering pandemic will lead to the elimination of about 15% of its positions through permanent layoffs and early retirements, The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Wednesday.

Biltmore temporarily laid off most of its 2,600 workers in late March as the pandemic spread, closing for the first time since World War II.

The 8,000-acre estate, anchored by a 250-room French chateau built at the direction of George Vanderbilt, was completed in 1895 during the nation’s Gilded Age. Biltmore now draws about 1.4 million visitors in a normal year.