WW2 museum to reopen, cut jobs

NEW ORLEANS – The National WWII Museum announced May 22 that it has released 82 employees based on financial challenges brought on by fewer visitors because of the coronavirus. The job cuts account for nearly 33 percent of the museum’s staff, which number more than 300. The museum will also eliminate 40 vacant positions, and many of the remaining staff members will take temporary pay cuts between 5 and 25 percent. “As a private non-profit that largely relies on visitation, The National WWII Museum has faced significant financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its campus closure,” museum President/CEO Stephen Watson said in a statement. In the first two months of the shutdown, the museum lost millions of dollars in revenue from admission sales, private events, fund-raisers, and overseas educational travel programs that were cancelled. Despite being able to reopen on Memorial Day, the museum expects a tough year ahead given the impacts on tourism. Visitation for FY 2021, which begins in July, is predicted to be less than half of previously expected. On June 6, the museum will be 20 years old. (Source: WWL/WGNO 05/22/20)