Politics- Donald Trump struck a deal to license his name and to help run a hotel in Bali, Indonesia, in 2015.
- In 2017, the original hotel was closed and hundreds of workers were reportedly laid off.
In 2017, the Trump Organization and Indonesian developer MNC group reportedly laid off hundreds of workers as part of an ambitious plan to redevelop a Bali hotel, known as the Nirwana Golf Resort, into an ultra-luxurious "six-star" resort named after the former president, per the report.
But years later, workers who expected to get their jobs back once the hotel reopened told the news agency AFP that they remain jobless and disappointed. Over 250 acres of land has been cleared, and the old hotel demolished, but construction on a new resort has yet to begin, according to 9 News.
"There was no clarity about our future," said Ditta Dwi, a 26-year-old former caddy, per AFP. "We heard that we would be re-recruited but it has never happened."
Former President Donald Trump struck a deal to license his name and to help operate the new hotel in 2015, per AFP. However, the construction has failed to get off the ground. AFP reported that the resort is now derelict, covered in weeds, and littered with beer bottles and broken plastic chairs.
The director of MNC's property arm told AFP that the project has been delayed by "financial matters." MNC and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
Workers, some of whom say they received no compensation after losing their jobs, are anxiously waiting for the resort to reopen even as construction seems to have come to a standstill. AFP reported that about 150 caddies including Dwi were on temporary contracts and were not eligible for a payout when they were released from their roles.
Dwi told AFP that it was "hard" when she lost her job without payment in 2017. "The time I lost my job as a caddy was difficult," she told the news agency. "Many people were angry."
Dwi said she had to take a waitressing job while waiting for the hotel to reopen, per AFP, but has accepted that being reemployed seems "impossible." She added, "I have just let it go. I'm moving on."
Another former worker, Pita Dewi, worked for the hotel's spa for 18 years before she lost her job. "I got stressed thinking about how I would earn money because I have children," she told AFP. "I was 48 years old, how could I get another job?"
Dewi said she has decided to get on with her life instead of holding a grudge toward Trump. She told the news agency: "If we hated him, would that make him give us money?"
In 2019, 54-year-old Ketut Sujana told 9 News, an Australian media outlet, that many employees were promised jobs at the new resort. "I lost my job without any plan for the next picture," he said, per 9 News.
Sujana said in the 2019 interview that he had to borrow money, sell his car, and live off his pension while waiting patiently to be employed again.
Trump has had several unsuccessful business ventures in hospitality. MailOnline reported that his casinos and hotels fell into bankruptcy six times between 1991 and 2009.