Food service vendor loses contract at SRQ airport, cuts nearly 100 jobs

HMSHost, a suburban Washington, D.C., company that provides food services at in the U.S. and Canada, is laying of nearly 100 employees at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

The layoff notice was posted Wednesday on the Florida's Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification database. According to the posting, 97 jobs will be cut beginning Aug. 31.

The jobs are in accommodations and food services.

(Companies, according to federal law, have to provide states with WARN notices when making job cuts.)

A letter to the state that normally accompanies the posting was not immediately available Wednesday, but a spokesperson for the Bethesda, Maryland, company confirmed the cuts in an email.

“The concessions contract is transitioning to a new operator,” the spokesperson says.

“HMSHost is working with the new operator to ensure our team members will be offered continued employment as positions are available.”

The new vendor was not disclosed, but at a Longboat Key event in February Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport’s president and CEO Rick Piccolo said future projects would include new concessions and shops. Among those he mentioned were Anna Maria Oyster Bar, Shops at Siesta Key, the Salty Key and Motorworks Brewing.

HMSHost, according to a fact sheet on its website, operates in 80 airports and is an “industry leader and expert in food and beverage operations for travel venues.”

Its portfolio includes local and national brands as well as specialty and proprietary brands.

Among the half-dozen other Florida airports it is contracted with are Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers and Tampa International Airport.