MFA is facing layoffs, cutting around 10% of jobs

"Confronting a widening structural deficit, the Museum of Fine Arts said Wednesday it will lay off 6.3% of its staff as part of a sweeping restructuring plan. The museum called the cuts "painful but necessary," adding that it is "deeply grateful" to the departing employees. The MFA Director, Pierre Terjanian, told the Boston Globe that the layoffs were necessary because the museum faces a projected $13 million deficit, and even with the staff cuts, the savings would be only $5.4 million."

""We are deeply concerned about the impact of these layoffs, both on the affected staff and on the remaining staff of the museum," the union shared in a statement. It continued, "Workloads at the museum are already high, and cutting back on the very staff members who make the MFA, Boston such a great institution is a blow both to the affected individuals and to the institution itself.""

"The union plans to meet with the museum management to discuss how to avoid layoffs and, if they occur, to ensure leadership bears its share of the burden. It is the second time the MFA has had cuts in recent years. In August 2020, the MFA eliminated 113 full- and part-time positions, with half of them coming from voluntary early retirements."

The Museum of Fine Arts will lay off 33 employees, representing 6.3% of staff, as part of a broad restructuring to address a widening structural deficit. Leadership projects a $13 million budget shortfall; the staff reductions are expected to yield about $5.4 million in savings. The United Auto Workers Local 2110 is gathering details and reports 16 union members among those impacted and 17 other employees affected. The union expressed deep concern about increased workloads and plans to meet management to discuss alternatives and burden-sharing. This follows August 2020 cuts when 113 positions were eliminated. The museum’s endowment is $830 million and 2025 attendance topped one million but remained below pre-pandemic levels.

Read at Boston.com