Iowa City Sheraton cutting staff

IOWA CITY - Thirty people will lose their jobs as the Sheraton Hotel in Iowa City temporarily closes.

The hotel's operator recently notified Iowa Workforce Development and the Iowa City Council it will cut 30 jobs by the end of this year.

The job cuts are tied to a temporary closure of the Sheraton, Davidson Hotels and Resorts told the city.

'We are writing to inform you that the Sheraton Iowa City Hotel ...

will temporarily close for renovations on Dec. 31, 2017. This action is expected to be temporary,” Mary Powers, vice president of human relations for Davidson Hotels, wrote in a letter to Iowa City's mayor.

It was not clear if the layoffs were temporary. Cut positions include the hotel's general manager, cooks, banquet staff and more, according to Powers's letter.

The cuts come just months after the Sheraton, 210 S. Dubuque St., changed hands. Chicago-based AJ Capital Partners purchased the hotel earlier this year through a subsidiary, Graduate Hotels.

Graduate paid about $26 million for the Sheraton, according to assessor records.

A call to the Sheraton's human resources department and an email to Graduate Hotels were not returned Thursday afternoon. Powers was not immediately available.

Graduate Hotels President Tim Franzen previously said the company would renovate the Sheraton and rename it Graduate Iowa City.

The company also had plans to acquire the adjacent hotelVetro.

l Comments: (319) 398-8366; matthew.patane@thegazette.com