The word restructuring in corporate America has many meanings and interpretations. So when the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced on Monday that it had completed its restructuring announced in March, the story took on a different meaning based on where you read it.
The New York Post and other media outlets that picked up the Met story (including this one) reported Tuesday that the Met had cut its staff by 357 positions on Monday. That sounds pretty grisly. While the reality was ugly, it wasn't as bad as those reports. The New York Times on Monday wrote that the museum had finished a round of layoffs and voluntary retirements that amounted to 14% of the museum's workforce. Who was right? When it came to the timing of the restructuring, the Times hit the nail on the head.
With a drop in its endowment from $2.9 billion to around $2.1 billion between summer 2008 and Jan. 1, the Met was forced to initiate a gradual staff restructuring it completed on Monday.
The cuts, which began Jan. 1, comprised of voluntary retirements, expiration of staff contracts and layoffs through the closing of retail outlets and termination of staff positions. The museum will still have a workforce of 2,200. Additionally, the museum has eliminated salary increases for 2010. Overall, the cuts will save the Met $10 million in 2010, but it still doesn't close its budget gap, the Met said in a statement.
"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," said director Thomas P. Campbell and president Emily K. Rafferty in a press release.
The Met is not the only museum that is experiencing financial woes and being forced into massive restructuring. Others include the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. - Gerald Magpily
uh, the Met admits a 14 percent loss of staff, to 2,200. I do believe that is rather more than the NYT's 70-something positions. Hey, you don't happen to be part of the New York Times, do you? W
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The word restructuring in corporate America has many meanings and interpretations. So when the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced on Monday that it had completed its restructuring announced in March, the story took on a different meaning based on where you read it. 
uh, the Met admits a 14 percent loss of staff, to 2,200. I do believe that is rather more than the NYT's 70-something positions. Hey, you don't happen to be part of the New York Times, do you? W