Some 47 people employed by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT) are expected to be made redundant after the heritage charity’s assets transfer to the National Trust next month.
The transfer, backed by a £9m investment from the Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS), was announced last year and is due to take place on 2 March.
A consultation with all 184 IGMT affected by the transfer has now concluded, with 47 people set to be made redundant as a result.
Most of the IGMT staff members losing their jobs will be people working in management and support functions such as finance, IT, HR and marketing, as those roles already exist at the National Trust.
The 47 redundancies are slightly fewer than anticipated through the proposals, the National Trust said, as it was able to add some roles back into the structure as a result of consultation feedback.
IGMT, which registered as a charity in 1968 and stated before the transfer that it was becoming “increasingly difficult” to function as an independent organisation, is expected to close after the transfer has been completed.
Ironbridge Gorge is considered “the birthplace of the industrial revolution” and one of Britain’s first UNESCO world heritage sites.
‘Savings need to be made’
Paul Forecast, regional director for the National Trust, said his charity’s priority was to safeguard the “globally important” Ironbridge Gorge site and to ensure that all of IGMT’s 10 museums can continue to open to visitors.
“Financial challenges affecting the heritage sector led to the IGMT approaching the National Trust to take on the care of the Ironbridge Gorge sites,” he said.
“As a conservation charity ourselves, we are not immune to these challenges, and we have had to carefully consider all costs in agreeing to the transfer.
“This has included raising vital funds, such as the £9m investment from DCMS. Whilst this investment is enabling the transfer to go ahead, we are only permitted to spend the interest the money generates on caring for the sites, so we still need to fundraise, and savings need to be made.
“We have looked at how the Ironbridge Gorge sites are currently run and how we can streamline processes, due to many management and support roles already existing within the National Trust.
“It is imperative that we introduce a new operating model that is both economically viable and proven to be successful at other places in our care.
“During a consultation with IGMT staff we have reviewed all of the individual and collective feedback received and made several changes as a result, with some additional roles added in.
“Of the 184 IGMT staff impacted by the proposals, we expect 47 people to be made redundant after 2 March, when the transfer is due to take place.
“We are mindful that this is a very difficult time for everyone involved and we are working closely with IGMT to support those affected by these changes.”
