The Neverland deathwatch is on.
As staffers at Michael Jackson's fantasyland California ranch were paid Thursday for the first time since before Christmas, the pop singer's spokeswoman announced his main house was to be closed.
The statement from rep Raymone K. Bain also said that Jackson had decided to "reduce his work force."
It was not known how many Neverland employees were downsized.
"It's unbelievable," an unidentified "longtime staffer" told FoxNews.com. "We got nothing for the pain of what just happened, and nothing to see us through. Some of the people here are close to retirement age and they have nothing to retire on."
California state labor officials said the ranch had 69 workers as of December, but it was believed that payroll troubles led to numerous defections since then.
Officially, Neverland is not closed. But it's not exactly wide open, either.
Members of the Jackson family, whom Jackson presumably doesn't need to pay or insure, have been drafted as security guards. A local veterinarian has become the savior of the zoo, adding the animals' caretakers to his own payroll. Any Jackson-employed staffers left at the Santa Barbara County ranch are under from the state not to work until their famous boss reacquires workers' compensation insurance.
Jackson, 47, bought Neverland in 1988, back when his King of Pop title was earned with every chart-topping hit, and his image was untarnished by child-molestation allegations.
The singer's camp has determinedly declined to link Neverland's demise to his reputedly dwindling cash reserves. Bain even suggested that the ranch's house was to be closed only because Jackson has taken up residence in Bahrain. "This is a common practice when a residence is vacant for an extended period of time," she said in Thursday's statement.
The Middle East transplant was not on hand for Thursday's paycheck distribution event at Neverland. The state is in the process of confirming that everybody who was supposed to be paid was paid. Workers reached by phone on Friday morning reported receiving their checks, Department of Industrial Relations spokesman Dean Fryer said.
Jackson was under the gun to make good on least $306,000 in unpaid wages this week, or else face a lawsuit from the state.
Forty-six workers filed claims with the state demanding back pay, Fryer said. But Jackson needs to pay everybody who wasn't paid, not just those who filed claims, he said.