Met Museum Completes Staff Reduction Program

NEW YORK, JUNE 22, 2009)—The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that it had completed this week the museum-wide staff reduction program announced on March 12, 2009 as crucial to its efforts to forge a new, reduced operating budget for the 2010 fiscal year that begins July 1.

Through a combination of voluntary retirements, the closing of retail outlets, attrition and a hiring freeze, the expiration of staff contracts, and involuntary personnel reductions, the Museum has now pared its full- and part-time work force by a total of 357 positions, both administrative and professional, union and non-union, or some 14% since January 1.

“This realignment is a painful but unavoidable consequence of the global financial crisis,” stated James R. Houghton, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Significant short- and long-term reductions in income from the Met’s operating endowment, along with the retail downturn, and recent declines in membership and admissions income, have combined to compel us to craft a budget that sharply reduces costs while faithfully preserving the mission of the Museum. Acting with these obligations in mind, the Trustees and Management believe they have placed the institution on a sure footing to manage its resources over the next twelve months while continuing to offer its local, national, and international publics continued access to both its collections and its programs.”

The Museum announced three months ago on March 12 that it had begun this process by eliminating 53 positions at recently closed satellite shops around the country, and a further 74 positions in the remainder of its Merchandising operation. By the end of the fiscal year June 30, the Metropolitan will have closed 15 satellite shops.

Additionally, in May a total of 95 employees at the Met elected to accept a voluntary retirement incentive package offered to those age 55 or older and with at least 15 years of service to the institution. Over the last two weeks, the Museum has further reduced its work force by 74 union and non-union employees. With the previous Merchandising actions, all these staff reductions total 296 positions. The remainder of the total work force reduction of 357 has come primarily through attrition (a hiring freeze has been in place since January 1). The Museum also eliminated salary increases for FY 2010, and imposed new and ongoing expense reductions while introducing new programs for revenue enhancements.

“Ever since the first signs of global economic distress, our entire staff has worked tirelessly to close looming budget gaps in order to safeguard the museum’s mission and sustain its covenant with the public,” commented Director Thomas P. Campbell and President Emily K. Rafferty. “We believe we enter the new fiscal year well positioned to meet this goal. The savings to the institution from staff reductions alone will be more than $10 million, and while this does not entirely close the budget gap for 2010, it makes it possible to continue serving visitors and members at the highest possible levels, consistent with our historic commitments to excellence and innovation. It remains our goal that the public discern no difference at all in the visitor experience it has been our privilege to offer to them here.

“As we reported when we announced these difficult choices three months ago, we re-emphasize the Museum’s determination to continue providing a safe repository for its collections and a haven of reflection, education, and inspiration for its diverse visitors from around the city and around the globe. This commitment we reaffirm today.”

“At the same time,” they added, “we will miss our former colleagues enormously, and extend to both our retirees and those affected by the involuntary reduction program our gratitude and respect for the work they have done for so many years to sustain our institution.”

In FY 2010, the Metropolitan Museum will have a full- and part-time work force of approximately 2,200.