The Cavalier Daily: UVa contracted Aramark workers laid off without severance, notice amid COVID-19 facility closures

By Mackenzie Williams 

University Dining workers were laid off by Aramark — a University dining service provider — when their workplaces were shuttered during the University’s transition to long-term online learning.

All dining facilities — with the exception of Observatory Hill Dining Hall — shut down March 17 as part of the University’s operational plan. Food services are limited to takeout and grab-and-go, and students who get their food from O’Hill cannot eat inside the facility.

Some University Dining employees who already expected to be temporarily laid off over the summer may now go without income for nearly six months. Laura — a former University Dining cook, who asked that her real name remain private because she is applying for jobs — said only a “skeleton crew” of managers and essential staff are working in the University Dining facilities during the partial shutdown.

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