Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Lays Off a Dozen Employees
139July 22, 2025
TheFine Arts Museums of San Francisco(FAMSF), the organization comprising the city’sde Young Museumand the Legion of Honor, on July 18announcedthe layoff of twelve staffers, or about 5 percent of its workforce. FAMSF in a press release cited a decline in tourism and thus in attendance as behind the cuts, noting also a need to close a budget gap.
“This difficult decision came after months of planning and internal cost-saving measures,” Brooke Golden, FAMSF’s new chief marketing officer, said in a statement reproduced intheSan Francisco Chronicle, which broke the story this past weekend, “and reflects the broader challenges arts institutions and many organizations across the Bay Area, and beyond, have faced.”
The announcement of the layoffs, which mainly affects FAMSF’s nonprofit side, postdates by just two months the news that the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art was eliminating twenty-nine roles and allowing thirteen more to go unfilled as it sought similarly to reckon with a weak postpandemic rebound in tourism to the Bay Area. FAMSF noted that attendance at its museums was down nearly 20 percent from pre-pandemic levels. The organization had earlier investigated the possibility of closing the museums on Tuesdays but faced a projected loss of up to 150,000 visitors annually and a 25 percent reduction in student visits.
“We are making this adjustment to responsibly adapt to the reality of the current cultural and financial landscape,” FAMSF director and CEO Thomas P. Campbell said in a statement. “Our staff is the heart of our museums, they are the stewards of our mission. We understand the sensitivity of this situation for all affected, directly and indirectly, and are deeply grateful for the many contributions of our former team members during their time with us.”