Tate previously made half its staff (313 roles) at Tate Enterprises Ltd, the commercial branch of the organisation, redundant in August. This decision ignited protests at the time, as unions stated the round of redundancies would disproportionately affect Black and ethnic minority staff; eventually 295 roles were lost and BAME members of staff were allegedly not disproportionately represented in these redundancies.
Director Maria Balshaw elaborates on the impact COVID-19 has had on the Tate's four galleries, situated in London, Liverpool and St Ives, which "have seen only 20% of previous visitor numbers when open."
The impact statement on the Tate's website also details how the trust hope to lose most jobs from a voluntary redundancy scheme, which will be "open to colleagues in all departments and at all levels to express an interest in taking voluntary redundancy, early retirement, reduced working hours or a career break."
These moves to reduce workforce size by cultural organisations including the Tate and the National Gallery's commercial branch demonstrate the severe and long-term economic effects the pandemic has had on the arts sector in particular, as tourism is anticipated not to reach previous levels until 2024/45.