The Science Museum of Minnesota is laying off 43 full-time employees, a 13% workforce reduction.
In a statement Wednesday, the museum framed the move as a proactive response to nationwide declines in museum attendance, decreased federal and state funding and an aging facility requiring significant investment. The museum will transition from a $38 million annual operating model to $31 million.
“We’re not alone in facing these challenges,” said Alison Brown, the president and chief executive of the museum. “Museums nationwide are experiencing unprecedented change, and successful institutions are those who adapt thoughtfully and decisively.
“It is a tremendously difficult decision to reorganize roles and to eliminate staff.”
The Science Museum of Minnesota Workers Union said in a statement the reduction is a result of mistakes from leadership.
“We think it speaks to a fundamental failure of science museum leadership that the museum has gotten itself in this financial situation for the third consecutive year, and the brunt of these mistakes are as always borne disproportionately by our union members,” the statement said.
The union is affiliated with AFSCME Council 5, which in a separate statement said workers have put forth other solutions in the interest of the museum’s future.
This week’s workforce reduction is the museum’s largest since 2020, when 158 workers – nearly 40% of the staff – were laid off as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. Another 15 workers were laid off in 2023, as the museum continued a slow recovery.
