The Guggenheim Museum in New York announced on 28 February that it is laying off twenty employees, seven percent of its staff, effective immediately. The cuts are spread over six departments, but will not affect curators and top executives. This is the third round of layoffs at the Guggenheim in five years, with past cuts affecting over thirty employees.
Mariët Westermann, director and chief executive of the institution, said in a statement that the museum’s ‘overall financial picture is not where it needs to be’, though precise figures have not been communicated. Despite growing the endowment, programming fewer exhibitions, and raising ticket prices – from $25 to $30 in 2023 – ‘to be fiscally responsible now and position the museum well for the future, we have made the difficult decision to reorganize some teams and reduce staffing across the museum’, Westermann said. The news comes two weeks after the Brooklyn Museum also announced staff cuts to curb their budget deficit.
Olga Brudastova, speaking for a union representing Guggenheim employees, said that the union received no advance notice about the layoffs. ‘The union has already filed a grievance over this and has demanded information and bargaining with the museum over the layoffs’, she added.
