Record deficit forces cuts at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Share via
New York — The Metropolitan Museum of Art shed 14% of its staff in the year ending in June amid a record operating deficit.
At least 250 employees were fired or took buyouts as the museum reported that its investments declined by more than $600 million, or 24%.
Those numbers and others culled from the 2008-09 annual report posted on the Met’s website detail how even New York City’s best-attended museum struggled as stocks and fundraising declined.
The operating deficit widened to $8.4 million from $1.9 million. Spokesman Harold Holzer said that was a record for the 140-year-old museum. The job cuts were intended to circumvent future annual deficits of $20 million or more, the museum said.
The Met said it had 4.7 million visitors for the year ending in June. That compared with about 4 million at the American Museum of Natural History and 2.8 million at the Museum of Modern Art.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
