Bally Technologies trims 270 jobs

Slot machine giant Bally Technologies became the second gaming equipment manufacturer this year to lay off a portion of its global workforce, but said Friday the move was associated with its $1.3 billion purchase of a rival rather than poor sales numbers.

Bally said it reduced its workforce by 6 percent — approximately 270 jobs. The positions were eliminated this week. Half of the layoffs came from outside the U.S.

The company did not say how many positions were eliminated in Las Vegas where the company has two large facilities.

In a statement, Bally said the layoffs were part of the company’s reorganization following the $1.3 billion buyout of SHFL entertainment, which was completed in November.

Bally, which is best known for its slot machines and casino management systems, added SHFL’s non-traditional table games and table game management equipment into its product lines

Rival slot machine manufacturer International Game Technology laid off 7 percent of its global workforce in March as a cost-cutting measure.

In a statement, the Las Vegas-based company said it was “retooling” part of its businesses to further align resources.

Bally Vice President Gary Kapral said that “despite the decision to downsize our workforce, our business remains healthy.”

Kapral said that Bally is providing severance packages for all impacted employees and outplacement assistance where available.

“We are always evaluating our business and the market for our products to make sure that our priorities and our focus is where it should be,” Kapral said. “In this case, our reorganization resulted in some changes that necessitated tough decisions about resource and human-capital needs in certain areas.”

The layoffs come roughly six weeks after Bally replaced CEO Ramesh Srinivasan with former CEO Richard Haddrill, who gave up his role as board chairman to take over day-to-day operations of Bally.

In May, Bally reported earnings of $66.1 million, or 70 cents a share, on revenue of $338.4 million for the quarter that ended March 31. The company said at the time it was on track to save $40 million in cost synergies as a result of the SHFL acquisition.

On Thursday, Bally rolled out its new “Magic of David Copperfield” slot machines at the MGM Grand.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.