The California Academy of Sciences announced the layoffs of 53 employees last week, and many of them are union members who are still showing up for work.
Scott Sampson, the executive director of the California Academy of Sciences, announced the museum’s third round of layoffs in five years last Tuesday, as the Chronicle first reported. Sampson said 53 employees, about 9.3% of its staff, would receive layoff notices, citing a $7.3 million deficit from 2025 and projected losses of more than $8 million this year.
In a statement, Sampson said the museum also plans to cut or restructure dozens of additional positions, with around 32 employees being offered new roles or reduced hours. He attributed the academy’s financial struggles to high operating costs, declining tourism since the pandemic, and changing visitor habits, as well as the expense of maintaining 60,000 live animals and scientific collections containing nearly 46 million specimens.
As Mission Local reports, of the 53 employees who received layoff notices, 37 are members of the CalAcademy Workers United, including the museum’s entire planetarium staff and its content developer team — which worked with Indigenous communities across California on the award-winning California: State of Nature exhibit.
About half of the laid-off workers are reportedly still showing up to work as negotiations between the union and museum management continue.
Though the museum announced last week that the layoffs would be implemented “immediately,” the cuts are subject to a required 60-day notice period before positions can officially be eliminated. The museum is also required to negotiate with the union over the layoffs.
Per Mission Local, union leaders have argued that top executives should absorb some of the financial burden instead, pointing to Executive Director Scott Sampson’s reported $885,000 salary last year and CFO Matthew Lau’s reported $257,000 compensation.
Union president Teddy Vollman said some of the layoffs may violate the union contract ratified after the museum’s contentious unionization effort, including provisions limiting outsourced work. Vollman, who was laid off from two roles, said the union is pushing to preserve as many positions as possible.
Electronics engineer Victoria Langlands, who’s worked at the museum sporadically for a decade and was previously laid off in 2021, said half of the union’s eight bargaining team members were included in the latest layoffs. Speaking to Mission Local, Langlands described morale at the academy as “dismal,” with staff uncertain about the institution’s direction and priorities, while also suggesting the layoffs appeared retaliatory.
Vollman warned the museum cannot continue cutting staff indefinitely without undermining the institution itself.
Workers described confusion after the announcement, with many reportedly learning about the layoffs through media reports before hearing from leadership. Employees said security guards were stationed around the museum while staff gathered in hallways crying and comparing information.
Community engagement specialist Zuhair Hussain told Mission Local that workers received few clear answers during a livestreamed meeting with senior leadership, describing responses from management as evasive. Hussain said the only direct answer he recalled came when employees asked whether executives would take pay cuts, and the answer was no.
Over the past week, CalAcademy Workers United have been sharing updates on social media with the slogan, “Chop from the Top!” The union recently highlighted the museum’s late Claude the Albino alligator, noting that the jobs of many of the workers involved with the exhibit and its promotions are on the chopping block.
“If you loved Claude, attended his 30th hatchday,” says the union, “or mourned his passing at his memorial just know that the humans who cared for him and made all of these beautiful community events happen are the folks being targeted in these layoffs.”
On Wednesday morning, laid-off union members who showed up to work received boxes next to their desks. Organizers filmed the group gathering all the boxes to be put on Sampson’s desk.
As SFist reported last year, the union was raising awareness of the impending layoffs on the museum’s 172nd anniversary.
Previously: Cal Academy Workers Union Spreads Awareness On Fight For Fair Wages On Academy Day
Image: CalAcademy Workers Union/Instagram
