Staff redundancies in the wake of the Corona pandemic

The Swedish government last week announced that as part of the SMTM, the Vasa Museum, and a number of other cultural institutions, would receive extra state support for 2020 to deal with the acute economic crisis triggered by the Corona pandemic.

The Vasa Museum receives support because it is financed entirely by income from paying visitors, 85 per cent of whom come from abroad. This loss in revenue means that SMTM’s budget has almost been halved, which has a huge impact on the Vasa Museum as well as the other museums in the authority. The Corona pandemic will affect SMTM for a long time to come as it will most likely take several years for travel and tourism to recover. Leif Grundberg, Director-General of SMTM, says:

“We are very grateful for the financial support which will cover our losses in 2020. But we also need to adjust our business to this new reality we are facing, with fewer visitors and reduced revenues, which is why we have no choice but to proceed with our programme of cost reductions and redundancies.”

A comprehensive savings package has already been introduced and all outgoing costs that are not business-critical have been stopped, but SMTM also needs to downsize and is now preparing to let go of 69 of its 270 employees. The decision was based on how SMTM could still fulfil its mission in light of the new financial conditions, both shorter and longer term.

“I wish we didn’t have to make people redundant and I understand the stress and concern this causes our employees,” Leif Grundberg says. “My hope has always been, and still is, to keep as many employees as we possibly can.”