Nearly fifty staff to lose jobs at Ironbridge Gorge Museums
The transfer of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust to the National Trust on 2 March will lead to 47 redundancies, it has been revealed.
A staff consultation involving 184 people concluded that management and support roles in finance, IT, HR and marketing are most at risk. This is because these functions already exist within the National Trust structure.
Bosses say the changes are needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the world-famous museums in the Gorge. A new operating model will be introduced to make the sites economically viable.
The final number of job losses is slightly lower than first feared after some roles were added back into the structure following feedback from staff. New roles unique to the local museums, such as Costume Interpreter and Foundry Assistant, will be part of the new setup.
Paul Forecast, Regional Director for the National Trust in the Midlands and East of England, said: “Our priority is to safeguard this globally important site and to ensure that all of the museums can continue to open to visitors. Financial challenges affecting the heritage sector led to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT) approaching the National Trust to take on the care of the Ironbridge Gorge sites.”
He added that while a £9m investment from the Department for Media, Culture and Sport has helped the transfer, the charity can only spend the interest generated by that money.
“We have looked at how the Ironbridge Gorge sites are currently run and how we can streamline processes, due to many management and support roles already existing within the National Trust,” Mr Forecast said. “We are mindful that this is a very difficult time for everyone involved and we are working closely with IGMT to support those affected by these changes.”
Visitors should expect a phased opening of the various sites across the Gorge over the coming months. A transition period is required after the March takeover to move systems and staff over to the National Trust.
Opening timelines will be shared on the National Trust website once they are confirmed.
