Michael Jackson closes Neverland Ranch house
Michael Jackson has closed the house on his Neverland Ranch and laid off some of the employees there, but has not completely shuttered the sprawling California estate.
“It is public knowledge that Mr Jackson currently resides in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain. He therefore decided to close his house and reduce his work force. This is common when a residence is vacant for an extended period of time,” Jackson spokeswoman Raymone Bain said in a statement.
The action came a day after state labour officials announced Jackson had agreed to pay his Neverland Ranch employees hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages, avoiding a lawsuit by the California Department of Industrial Relations.
Employees who received their back pay yesterday were told they were being laid off because the state had shut down the ranch, the syndicated television news magazine Entertainment Tonight reported on its website.
But Bain indicated the ranch was still operating, at least on a limited basis.
“Reports indicating that Neverland has been closed or ’shut down’ for good are inaccurate,” she said.
