DFS Hawaii cuts more staff

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DFS Hawaii laid off 20 employees last month, part of the company's move to cut 300 jobs worldwide.

DFS Hawaii group vice president, Sharon Weiner, told local press worker numbers were being trimmed from the Galleria store in Waikiki and the corporate office. The layoffs are the second for DFS Hawaii since September 11. Seventy staff were laid off in October.

Business has been hard hit by the attacks, as most of its visitors come from the Japanese market, which still is trying to regain former tourism levels. "This is just a realisation business is not going to come back from Japan anytime soon," Weiner said.

Despite the downturn, Weiner said DFS is committed to the Japanese market and continues to work with the Hawaii Tourism Authority and Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau on marketing plans to get Japanese visitors back to the islands.

"We're trying to get more aggressive marketing going on in Japan, more targeted," she said. "We need to do the best we can in Japan to bring more people here. Our entire infrastructure is geared to Japanese tourism."