Metropolitan Opera to Furlough and Reduce Hours of 40+ Employees

Today, the Metropolitan Opera announced plans to furlough 41 members of its administrative staff and reduce the hours of an additional 11 staff members, due to revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furloughed staff members will receive two weeks of pay and will retain health benefits, while the 11 other affected employees will operate on a part-time schedule.

Since its closing, the Met has produced a successful slate of online programming and had hoped that staff reductions would not be necessary. As COVID-19 continues to sweep the nation, however, the picture of the virus' full impact is rapidly changing.

Peter Gelb, Metropolitan Opera general manager told the New York Times, "The magnitude of the long-term damage - the immediate and long-term effects of the health crisis on the performing arts - seem graver and more challenging than they appeared a month ago."

The Met currently is not anticipating further staff cuts throughout the summer months, but Gelb explains that the ever-growing impact of the pandemic has left the Met and many arts organizations unsure of the future.

"It's very difficult to budget when you have so many uncertainties of timetable," he told the Times, "The performing arts are going to be the last business to return. We're still selling tickets for next season, but obviously the fall is in jeopardy at this point. Hard decisions will need to be made in the coming weeks about the opening. Perhaps by some miraculous situation we can return in the fall."