The Museum of Fine Arts, Which Remains Closed, Confirms Layoffs

The Museum of Fine Arts confirmed Friday that they're laying off employees.

In a statement sent to WBUR on Monday, Aug. 3, MFA spokesperson Karen Frascona detailed the reorganizing, which impacts 113 employees. "After carefully considering the role played by each employee in the operations of the museum, we have restructured the organization to align with our new business model: 56 eligible employees have elected voluntary early retirement and 57 have been laid off," the statement reads.

Among the largest arts institutions in the city, the MFA is the only one of Boston's major museums that has yet to open following phase three of Gov. Charlie Baker's reopening plan that began July 6. The museum has not announced when patrons will be able to return.

In early April, the MFA furloughed between 325 and 340 of its 750 employees as part of a strategy to offset the financial impact of its closure.

Furloughs were supposed to have ended on June 30.

Museum director Matthew Teitelbaum cut his salary by 30%, which, according to the MFA's 2018 tax records was $841,921. In the spring, the institution said in a release that they had lost $1.4 million since closing in mid-March. They had projected a shortfall of between $12 and $14 million by June 30 without revenue from museum admissions, the restaurant, cafe, parking and touring exhibitions.