SFMOMA Lays Off 29 Employees, Citing Low Attendance and Financial Strain

SFMOMA is laying off nearly 8% of its workforce amid financial strain, just days after the Trump administration announced it would pull funding from more than a dozen Bay Area arts institutions.

Twenty-nine SFMOMA employees will lose their jobs as the museum grapples with low visitorship, loss of funding and a multimillion-dollar structural budget deficit.

“SFMOMA has an exceptional team — one that is immensely dedicated, passionate, and talented. For that reason, among others, today’s reduction is difficult to both implement and share,” Christopher Bedford, the museum’s director, said in a letter posted publicly Wednesday. “These are tough decisions, yet they are necessary in setting a sustainable future course for the museum.”

The cuts will affect 20 full-time and nine part-time workers, and eliminate another 13 positions that were either vacant or would not be backfilled. Twenty-six of the affected employees are members of the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 29, which represents more than half of the museum’s workforce.

The union, which is currently engaged in collective bargaining with SFMOMA, has called on members to fight the layoffs during an all-staff meeting planned for Thursday, arguing that reductions by the museum should come “from the top.” After the layoff announcement, the meeting was moved from in-person to online, according to the union.

Bedford said that the museum is adjusting to a “new normal” since the COVID-19 pandemic. It revised its annual expected attendance down to 600,000, in part, Bedford said, because of persistent low tourism and foot traffic in San Francisco’s embattled downtown.

He also referenced “pressure” on philanthropic and cultural sectors. Just last month, the Trump administration pulled back a $210,000 grant from the federal government meant to fund accessibility upgrades, the San Francisco Standard reported. Earlier this week, Trump announced that he was cancelling National Endowment for the Arts grants that had been awarded to more than a dozen other arts nonprofits around the Bay Area.

“We now know that we cannot simply return to a pre-pandemic era,” Bedford wrote. “We must set a new path forward grounded in the facts of the present.”

Wednesday’s was the second round of surprise layoffs Bedford has announced since he took over as the museum’s director in 2022.

The following year, SFMOMA laid off seven employees and axed another 13 open positions, also due to low attendance and a slow pandemic rebound.

Bedford wrote in his letter on Wednesday that the museum is continuing efforts to identify new revenue streams and philanthropic partners — which he also pledged to do when he announced the 2023 cuts — to close its $5 million structural deficit. But he said this work takes time to come to fruition.

“As these efforts take root, we must continue to be vigilant about our budget and make critical decisions to reduce costs and scale the institution in alignment with our current context,” he said. “Those reductions, unfortunately, include expenses both unrelated and related to our staff.

“Throughout these tumultuous times, SFMOMA’s mission remains, as does our steadfast commitment to connect our audiences with the art of our time.”