Denver, Colorado — If you believe layoffs are a sign of a company’s standing, then Alterra Mountain Company did not have a good 2025-26 ski season.
The Denver Post reported last week that Alterra Mountain Company has laid off an unspecified number of employees. While some of these layoffs apply to jobs that were never filled, this also includes full-time positions in Denver and at its ski resorts. The news follows the departure of former CEO Jared Smith in March. Multiple ski resorts owned/operrated by Alterra had an underwhelming ski season due to below-average snowfall and above-average temperatures.
The number of employees cut is uncertain. Alterra would have to submit notice to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment if it fires a third of its workforce, or 50 employees at one office location. Such a notice has not yet been made public.
According to Revelio Labs, Alterra had approximately 4,500 employees in March. That’s quite a contrast to Vail Resorts, which has roughly 43,000 workers during the heart of ski season. Vail also recently laid off employees as part of its corporate restructuring plan.
“This week Alterra Mountain Company made changes across a number of departments, mostly in corporate services, that impacted some full-time, year-round team members, said Kristin Rust, spokesperson for Alterra.
“The changes included open roles which we chose not to fill and were spread across Denver, remote employees, and some of our resorts.
These decisions were not made lightly, and it is incredibly difficult to part with even a single member of our talented and passionate team.”
The news follows maneuvering by Colorado and Denver governments to try to keep Alterra Mountain Company from moving. The State of Colorado and the City of Denver offered almost $11 million for them to move to a different spot in Denver. Alterra currently has an approximately 40,000-square-foot office space at Zeppelin Station in Denver’s RiNo district. But Alterra hasn’t announced whether it’s moving yet, or whether it will go to another spot in Denver or to (reportedly) Salt Lake City.
Depending on how big the layoffs are, Alterra could lose these financial incentives. However, Alterra could regain them by rebuilding its workforce over time.
Image/Video Credits: Shift4
