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Staff gets screwed as Four Seasons plans farewell party for famous guests

Power-lunch mecca The Four Seasons, which will serve its last meal on July 16 after 57 years, plans a “hush-hush” farewell party for famous customers two days earlier — but loyal employees will get only crumbs.

Longtime staffers at the landmark Seagram Building eatery that’s a favorite of boldfacers such as Henry Kravis, Barry Diller and Martha Stewart, will receive severance pay of as little as $600, The Post has learned — even waiters who’ve served the celebs for 40 years.

That’s less than a single dinner for two can cost, thanks to entrees up to $75 and many wines priced well above $1,000.

“We gave our blood and soul to this place,” said Antonio Veloso, 50, a floor captain who started there in 1994. “They could show us a little more respect.”

Alex Camilleri, 35, waiter and captain since 2004, said, “People who started here one year ago are getting the same severance as those of us who worked here for 20 years? It does not make sense.”

A devastated Camilleri, who lives with his wife and a very young daughter, said he doesn’t know his next move: “I have to clear my head. I’ll have to look for another job.”

Suebpong “Neng” Gosinanond has been working in the Pool Room since 1976.

Many among the 130-strong staff blame their Unite Here Local 100 union contract.

Suebpong Gosinanond, 67, a Pool Room waiter since 1976 who’s known as Neng, said he didn’t know of the starvation severance — a mere two weeks’ pay — until union rep Shafiqur Rahman recently briefed the staff.

“I never read the contract,” Neng said. Some employees said they believed it once included two weeks of pay for each year worked — a common formula — but was changed to just two weeks regardless of service time “many years ago.”

Rahman did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Isni Haluci, 53, a waiter for 18 years, said Rahman told the staff they could apply for new jobs at a new Four Seasons that owners Julian Niccolini and Alex von Bidder plan to launch two years from now at 280 Park Ave. — but there are no guarantees they’ll be hired.

Severance runs from $600 for front-of-house workers based on a $300 weekly salary, to about $1,200 for kitchen workers such as line cooks and dishwashers — who were paid more because they don’t get tips. Employees will also be paid for unused vacation and sick days.

The puny payouts will cost Niccolini and von Bidder about a half-million dollars, but an auction on July 26 of furnishings — including silverware, chairs, banquettes, even pots and pans — might rake in millions.

Four Seasons restaurant co-owners Alex von Bidder (left) and Julian NiccoliniAP

One insider fumed, “Julian and Alex are squeezing the last dime out of us. We’re working double shifts to work private parties for rich guys who want to tell their friends about their last blowout at The Four Seasons.”

A final Tuscan wine dinner Wednesday night featured dishes cooked by famous chefs including Mario Batali and Cesare Casella.

Niccolini and von Bidder didn’t respond to messages left with their rep.

Stiffed staffers said they’d miss the celebrity antics that came with their jobs. One waiter recalled when former President George W. Bush, at a private dinner, watched magician David Blaine submerge himself in a tank of water with a live crocodile.

“Bush stuck his hand in, trying to see how Blaine did it, while [former British PM] Tony Blair laughed his head off.”

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt “made out like teenagers.” Aretha Franklin “always had duck” and once belted out “Respect.” Elton John declined a recommendation of crab cakes with the line, “Thanks, I’ve had enough crabs for a lifetime.”

Now, the party’s over.

“What are you going to do with $600?” said 22-year veteran waiter Victor Ekmongkollert. “It’s like insulting you.”