Six Flags theme parks will no longer have individual park presidents under a reorganization plan which moves management further away from the parks they’re operating.
The Orange County Register first reported the change Friday night that all 27 of the park president positions across the Six Flags chain will be eliminated.
In a statement to the Orange County Register, Six Flags said: “Six Flags Entertainment recently moved to a new regional operating structure. Under this new alignment, we have centralized certain functions and responsibilities at the corporate level. The company also made some changes to the roles and responsibilities of park leaders, sharpening the parks’ focus on execution, the guest experience and associates.”
Some of the individual presidents will be laid off, such as Magic Mountain’s Jeff Harris and Jon Storbeck at Knott’s Berry Farm. Others may instead move to other positions; SFOT Source reported that Six Flags Fiesta Texas park president Jeffrey Siebert will become the regional general manager of the chain’s Texas properties, including Six Flags Over Texas.
Consolidation was not unexpected following the completion of last year’s merger between Six Flags and Cedar Fair, which came with the promise of achieving $120 million in savings within two years. A regional structure has already been put in place for media relations staff, leaving major parks such as Kings Island without having their own, dedicated spokesperson.
Before the staff changes were announced, former Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet offered candidly critical comments about the merger’s impact in a LinkedIn post. In explaining why he opted to retire from the Cedar Fair board in 2023, having previously served as CEO from 2011 to 2017, Ouimet said:
I recognized that I wasn’t up to watching talented colleagues being asked to exit in order to achieve the cost synergies that were promised to investors.
In recent days that parade of departures has stepped off. Several of the industry’s best are marching into the unknown on a timeline not of their choosing.
Some could accuse me of getting old (true) and lacking the courage to do what was best for the investors, but I’ve made unpopular decisions before.
This is different.
It isn’t because the business or the individuals were performing poorly. This is purely math.
It’s also not a surprise. This die was cast when the merger agreement was signed.
I’ve said many times before that I don’t miss the business, but I do miss my former colleagues.
While Six Flags’ statement suggested the change to a regional management structure will make things better for guests, theme park fans’ experiences since the merger with Cedar Fair was completed makes the opposite appear more likely.
So far, the most obvious effects of the merger have been reducing staff, closing major attractions and announcing one Six Flags park will be shut down at the end of this season.