Local News

Five New England ski resort employees fired after giving Nazi salutes

The employees allegedly photographed themselves in swastika armbands at a costume party.

The top of the Flyer Express Quad at Jay Peak. Brian Irwin For The Boston Globe

February 8, 2024

1 minute to read

A Vermont ski resort fired five of its employees this week after they posted an image on Instagram showing Nazi symbolism.

According to NBC5 in Burlington, the image showed Jay Peak Resort employees in homemade swastika armbands giving a Nazi salute.

Jay Peak President and General Manager Steve Wright said the five international workers had been at the Jay, Vermont, resort for roughly four weeks. The Instagram post showed them at a costume party, he said.

“After a brief review of the incident with them, they were terminated,” Wright explained via email. “It is a violation against several of our internal policies relating to employment, and we have no tolerance for this sort of, frankly, garbage.”

According to NBC5, the employees were originally from Peru and had been working at the resort through the J-1 Visa program. They’re now reportedly heading back to their home country.

An anonymous resort employee who did not appear to be involved in the incident told NBC5 they were shocked when they saw the photo in question.

“I feel like Jay Peak as a whole is very peace, love and positivity type of vibes, and that’s the exact opposite of what we’re getting with that [photo],” the employee reportedly said. “So I just felt it was very unacceptable.”

First opened to skiers in 1957, Jay Peak Resort features a waterpark, ice arena, and golf course, as well as a recreation center featuring arcades and a movie theater, according to its website. Jay Peak ranked among the top 10 most popular ski resorts in the U.S. for the 2023-2024 season, and Boston.com readers recently named it the best ski resort in Vermont.