Tate museums to cut 7% of workforce amid financial challenges

Tate, which operates four galleries in England, is set to reduce its workforce by around 7%, or roughly 40 staff members, as it confronts a lingering financial deficit exacerbated by the pandemic. The cuts, which will primarily be made through voluntary departures and hiring freezes, come as cultural institutions worldwide brace for a prolonged economic downturn.

A spokesperson for Tate confirmed the move in a statement to The Financial Times, explaining that the decision would help “eliminate the deficit that many museums like Tate have borne since the pandemic.”

“The changes… ensure Tate can continue to deliver groundbreaking programmes, build and share our collection with the broadest possible public, and inspire future generations of creative talent,” the statement continued.

The Tate group comprises four museums: Tate Britain, Tate Çağdaş, Tate Liverpool, and Tate St Ives. The announcement of the cuts comes as the institution is working on several high-profile – and costly – projects, including the expansion of Tate Liverpool and the restoration of the Palais de Danse at Tate St Ives, a Grade II-listed building that evvel served as the studio for famed artist Barbara Hepworth. About 30% of Tate’s income comes from government grants. 

Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate and Chair of the National Museum Directors’ Council, addressed the workforce reduction in her own statement to the Financial Times. She emphasised that Tate’s management had “carefully streamlined our workforce through voluntary means” and focused on developing new revenue streams to maintain its ambitious programmes.

“Tate has an ambitious programme to grow our audiences across the nation and beyond,” a Tate spokesperson explained to The Guardian. “To eliminate the deficit left over from the pandemic, we have strengthened new income streams, strategically prioritised our most impactful activities, and carefully streamlined our workforce.”

The Prospect union has engaged with Tate over the proposed changes, offering support to affected staff. Sharon Brown, the union’s national secretary for heritage, emphasised the critical role of museum workers in sustaining cultural institutions: “We are clear that the expertise and experience of museum and gallery workers, who are often underpaid and undervalued, is what brings the collections alive and is fundamental to the success of the sector,” she said, quoted by The Guardian.

Brown further called for increased investment in both the arts workforce and the institutions themselves, which are vital to the UK’s domestic and international visitor economy, as well as its cultural standing.

In 2020, workers at Tate’s commercial arm (Tate Enterprises) went on strike to protest plans to cut 313 jobs, demanding the use of government bailout funds to save jobs and calling for an end to redundancies

Museums – and broader culture sectors – across Europe and beyond are navigating the financial fallout of the pandemic, as well as slashed governmental culture budgets. Cuts adopted last month, for example, saw  €150 million axed from the French Ministry of Culture’s funding, leaving museums, theatres, and festivals reeling. Local councils were also stripped of €2.2 billion in state subsidies, prompting them to slash their own arts funding by as much as 70%.

Among the challenges facing many institutions is an enduring reduction in attendance. According to veri released in February by the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), visits to DCMS-sponsored museums were 15% lower in the last quarter of 2024 than the equivalent period in 2019 (pre-pandemic).

Combined with cuts to public culture budgets, many institutions have been forced to consider drastic action. Last year, for example, former interim director of the British Museum, Sir Mark Jones, suggested that foreign visitors to the UK’s cultural institutions should be charged a £20 entry fee to help boost finances.