National Museums Liverpool to cut jobs to ensure 'sustainability'

Up to 100 jobs could be cut at National Museums Liverpool under a restructuring to ensure "future sustainability and efficiency" in the wake of coronavirus.

A spokeswoman said the plan could see 20% of staff cut from its eight sites, which include the International Slavery Museum and Walker Art Gallery.

Director Laura Pye said the group's annual costs were £27m and Covid-19 had caused 2020's income to fall by £5.9m.

A union said a consequence of the virus should not be people losing their jobs.

Ms Pye said the museums, which were forced to close for up to five months, had seen footfall drop to 17% between July and September, compared with the same period in 2019.

She said the group "could never have imagined we would be in this position" at the start of 2020, but with the furlough period coming to an end, "we are sadly in a position where our commercial and charitable revenue sources are still profoundly reduced".

"We have reached a point where the financial implications of closure, the reduction in revenue, along with a severe downturn in tourism... cannot be ignored if we are to survive," she said.

She added that she was "devastated that we find ourselves in this position".

The group's spokeswoman said it was hoped that "working with the unions" could "mitigate the impact" and the majority of its job cuts could be achieved through voluntary redundancy.

The Public and Commercial Services Union said it was "deeply concerned" about the announcement, adding it did not "believe working people should pay for the Covid crisis by losing their livelihoods".

A spokesman added that management needed to "engage with the union to save as many jobs as possible".

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