The Science Museum Group has announced plans to make a portion of staff across all five museums redundant in a bid to save millions as COVID 19 continues to devastate the UK visitor experience sector.
As Britain’s biggest science attraction chain, The Science Museum Group is responsible for the operations at Science Museum London, National Science Museum, Locomotion, National Railway Museum and Science and Industry Museum. Each of the centres were forced to close in March and began a gradual reopening with reduced visitor numbers in place in July.
Despite resuming operations, the last six months has caused the organisation to lose an eyewatering £23 million in expected revenue, which would have usually been achieved through corporate events, fundraising, souvenir shops and in-house restaurants.
The announced redundancies are in the wake of the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme which has supported 9.4 million British residents on furlough wages since introduced in March. As furlough is set to come to an end of the end of October, the Science Museum Group has had no choice but to slash jobs as they attempt to survive on their own self-generated income through the Winter.
The five Science Museum Group attractions usually welcome more than five million visitors a year in total
Photo of Science Museum London, supplied by Science Museum Group
The Science Museum Group is now conducting a thorough investigation to establish how much payroll needs to be cut, with this ultimately determine the number of roles at risk. A detailed update is expected in November which will address the changes.
Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Group said in the statement: “This is a step we take with huge reluctance; recognising the pain it will cause colleagues who contribute so deeply to our mission.
“This concern will inform our approach to this difficult period, including giving advance notice of what will be a phased process and constructive engagement with colleagues and our recognised trade unions.
“While the road to recovery may be long, we will remain focused on the great benefit we bring to our audiences: to the wellbeing of communities across the country; to the wider economy and tourism industry; and through inspiring future generations of scientists, technicians and engineers whose vital importance in addressing global challenges has been so starkly illustrated by this terrible pandemic.”
In more uplifting news, the Science Museum London, part of the Science Museum Group has been announced as Art Fund’s Museum of the Year.
