Smithsonian cutting salaries of executives after estimated losses of $22M amid coronavirus
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The Smithsonian Institution will slash pay for some of its executives and implement salary and hiring freezes after losing an estimated $22 million in revenue due to closures during the coronavirus pandemic, Fox News is told.
Smithsonian Institution Chief Spokesperson Linda St. Thomas confirmed the news after The Washington Post first reported that the Washington, D.C., museums were taking the drastic measures.
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Eighty-nine senior-level executives of the institution will have their salaries cut by 10 percent for the next 12 months starting on May 24, with Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III and Deputy Secretary Meroe Park taking 15 percent cuts.
Those affected by the cuts will include museum and science directors and officials overseeing investments, security and facilities. Along with the executives, 19 employees in Smithsonian Enterprises, the revenue-generating arm of the institution, will also have their salaries cut and will not see any salary increases or performance awards that were to be made in January of next year.
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The majority of the institution’s 6,300 employees, however, are federal workers and will not be affected by the measures.
Like all businesses, museums have been hit hard by the forced closures that have accompanied the coronavirus pandemic.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.