MIA lays off 6 percent of its staff

The new wing
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts announced today that it was eliminating 11 full-time and 8 part-time positions.
Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts today announced it is eliminating 11 full-time positions and 8 part-time positions as a result of the economic downturn. This is a reduction of about 6 percent of current staff.

Senior museum staff are taking a pay-cut and several museum programs will be scaled back.

MIA leaders say the cuts are necessary, because of the 21 percent decline in the value of the institutes endowment over the last year, as well as a 25 percent drop in donations over the last nine months.

In a statement MIA Director and President Kaywin Feldman said the moves are necessary to produce a balanced budget, and that the MIA is committed to maintaining the museum's policy of free admission.

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