In Tuesday’s (3/10) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Andrew Druckenbrod reports, “The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra laid off nine administrative members yesterday in a bid to cut costs and restructure administrative operations. No musicians were affected. By also eliminating two staff vacancies, the PSO expects to save approximately $150,000 this fiscal year and around $400,000 annually. Its budget is $30 million. ‘This is our reaction to the economy, but it is not a traditional layoff,’ said Lawrence Tamburri, PSO president and CEO. ‘We are restructuring internally to get healthy.’ He said the endowment is down about 30 percent. It reached about $130 million in 2007.” Tamburri says the move is in line with the organization’s strategic plan, adopted in 2007. “The orchestra just announced plans to tour to Asia and Europe this year. The restructuring, which affects all departments, will leave the PSO with an administrative staff of 72 full-time positions. The group’s collective bargaining agreement with its musicians calls for 99 musician positions. Senior executive salaries also have been frozen and staff travel has been limited.”
Posted March 10, 2009
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