Exploratorium cuts 18% of staff as attendance lags
Carl Nolte and Kale Williams
Updated 10:54 pm, Thursday, August 15, 2013
The Exploratorium, San Francisco's acclaimed science museum, has decided to eliminate 80 of its 435 paid positions after attendance in the four months since it opened at its new waterfront location reached only half of what had been anticipated, its directors said.
"We were just not hitting our mark," said Executive Director Dennis Bartels.
The museum had projected a daily attendance of 6,000 to 7,000, but actual attendance at its new digs at Pier 15 on the Embarcadero was between 3,000 and 4,000, said Sabrina Smith, the museum's director of communications and marketing.
The cuts include laying off workers, leaving unfilled positions vacant and letting all seasonal employees go. A total of 34 full-time, permanent employees will be terminated within 30 days.
The reductions amount to more than 18 percent of the staff and are across the board, Exploratorium officials said.
more
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Exploratorium-cuts-18-of-staff-as-attendance-lags-4737148.php
I guess "soak the tourists" doesn't work so well anymore. I loved the old Exploratorium, shame they had to go and mess it up.
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