Beamish Museum jobs blow
Beamish Museum has began consultation on the loss of 59 jobs at the attraction.
It has confirmed it is looking to make the cuts due to the coronavirus pandemic, which forced it to close its doors in March until it was able to reopen in July with safety measures in place.
It has already launched a fundraising appeal to “get up and running again and secure its future for generations to come” with it now looking to make savings by losing 59 of its 400 workers.
Rhiannon Hiles, its deputy director, said: “We are deeply saddened that as COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on the museum, we have had to take the step of placing a number of roles at risk of redundancy, subject to collective consultation.
“As a charity, 95% of our income comes from our visitors. The mandatory four-month closure due to COVID-19, andre centre opening with restricted capacity, have had a major impact on our visitor numbers and our finances.
“We have been doing everything we possibly can to secure the future of Beamish, including launching a fundraising campaign, reducing our costs and applying for all support and loans available to us, and we continue to take every possible step to ensure the long-term sustainable future of the museum.
“However, despite this, like many organisations across the museums, heritage and tourism sectors, COVID-19 has had a devastating and unprecedented impact.
"At Beamish, where we have more than 400 muchvalued employees, we have been left with no option but to take the incredibly difficult decision to begin a period of collective consultation.
"This, unfortunately, means we have had to put 59 roles at risk of redundancy, subject of course to the outcome of the consultation.
"Our people mean so much to us and we will seek to retain as many of the 59 roles as possible as we work through this difficult period.
“We would like to thank all our visitors, Friends, Business Friends, funders and partners for their ongoing support during these difficult times. Your support is truly appreciated, as we work to secure the future of Beamish Museum for generations to come.”