New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has laid off 79 employees and furloughed 181 additional workers, citing a $150 million deficit exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. An additional 93 staff members accepted early retirement offers. The cuts, which follow 81 layoffs in April, reduce the museum's workforce from about 2,000 to roughly 1,600—a 20 percent reduction. Director Max Hollein and CEO Daniel H. Weiss announced the measures in an email, noting that staff salaries account for 65 percent of the annual budget. The museum has also implemented hiring freezes, pay cuts for top executives, and drawn on its $3.6 billion endowment. The Met remains closed pending state approval, aiming for an August 29 reopening with reduced hours.
This round of layoffs underscores the severe financial strain facing major cultural institutions during the pandemic, even those with substantial endowments like the Met. The cuts disproportionately affect people of color—48 percent of eliminated positions were held by staff of color, who make up 43 percent of the workforce—raising equity concerns. The museum's struggle to balance its budget while awaiting government permission to reopen reflects the broader crisis for art museums dependent on visitor revenue, and signals that similar cost-cutting may become widespread across the sector.