THE CRISIS HAS EVEN HIT HARRY’S BAR IN VENICE WHERE STIPENDS AND WORK HOURS MAY BE CUT

Even earnings at the world famous Harry’s bar in Venice have fallen: 40% less in 2008, and a January 2009 that has started off even worse. And because of this data, Arrigo Cipriani, the owner of the bar, decided to propose to his employees a pay cut and a reduction in work hours in order to be able to continue with business. It is a solution that Cipriani has already put into act in his restaurants located in New York and London.

The owner recently confirmed that, “yes, there are negotiations but it is not imminently arriving. A reduction in stipends is necessary together with a reduction in work hours otherwise we don’t know how to get out of this”. Union representatives fear the specter of layoffs but Cipriani ardently reaffirmed that, “I have always said that I don’t want to lose any workers”.

Harry’s Bar is one of the most famous bars in the world: in its 80 years of history, such personalities as Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Orson Welles, Aristotele Onassis, and Maria Callas have all frequented its tables. In 2001, the restaurant founded by Giuseppe Cipriani was deemed a “living monument” by t he Italian Ministry of Culture.

Arrigo Cipriani is considered a very attentive entrepreneur and had already “sensed” the crisis since its onset. In April 2008, with the increasingly weakening value of the dollar, owner Cipriani announced a 20% discount to all American patrons, publicizing the initiative with notices posted all over the entrance of the bar. In June, with further inflation underway, Cipriani decided to cut menu prices by 10%. Now, since the crisis has erupted worldwide, even these actions haven’t been enough and Harry’s Bar has turned to negotiating wage cuts with its staff.

Source: Gambero Rosso