The National Trust is proposing £100m of annual savings following the impact of the coronavirus crisis, after warning almost every aspect of its income has been affected.
The Trust expects to lose up to £200m this year as a result of the pandemic, and is today proposing spending plans that include a possible 1,200 redundancies as it seeks to reduce its annual spend and the size of its workforce.
Staff were given the news today, as Director General Hilary McGrady opened consultation on the proposals. McGrady told staff: “It’s with huge regret that I am telling you today about the need to cut jobs. The Trust’s strength is its people. Our institution has survived so long – through two world wars and a number of economic downturns, thanks to staff, volunteers and supporters. We would not be making these savings had we not exhausted every other possibility. We need to act now to ensure we are sustainable in the future.”
McGrady also pledged the Trust will ‘grow back stronger’ in the future, stepping up its efforts to help the nation get the rest, recuperation and recreation it needs. She said in future, visitors will play a greater part in bringing National Trust places to life, adding: “The nation’s beautiful places are not only for looking at, but for singing and dancing and reading, learning, cooking, crafting and creating in. And they belong to everyone.”
Like most organisations, the Trust has been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus. When the country went into lockdown the charity closed all its houses, gardens, car parks, shops, cafes, holidays and stopped events, quickly losing tens of millions of pounds of support.
As part of the review, the Trust hopes to save £100m – almost a fifth of its annual spend - through changing the way it operates and reducing its payroll and budgets.
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Posted On: 30/07/2020