The American Museum of Natural History has announced that it will reduce its staff of about 1,100 people by 20%, according to a report by the NY Times.
Employees who make over $100,000 per year will also be taking reduced salaries.
The AMNH is projecting a budget deficit of between $80 and $120 million for this and the next fiscal year. Each fiscal year ends on June 30th.
American Museum of Natural History to remove Theodore Roosevelt Statue
Ellen V. Futter, the museum’s president, told the Times “These actions are gut-wrenching, but we are compelled to make them to protect the museum and its mission of research, science education, caring for our collections, and providing access for visitors.”
Administrative staff members in almost every department will be furloughed or laid off. Most employees who work with visitors will be furloughed beginning on May 16th.
The museum stated that it “hopes to bring furloughed staff back to work in stages as it reopens and gradually resumes more normal operations.”
Other Upper West Side institutions have also recently announced major structural changes due to the crisis. The Metropolitan Opera has furloughed 41 staff members, while cutting another 11 employees to part-time hours. In addition, half of the 50-person full-time staff and all of the part-time staff was furloughed or laid off from Film at Lincoln Center.
