Management at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin has confirmed that it wants to reduce its core staff by a third by December 2005.
The Managing Director of the Abbey, Brian Jackson, outlined the plan to staff members this morning.
The Theatre needs to implement a restructuring programme to ensure financial stability, flexibility, efficiency and best practice in the operations of the theatre, strengthening its ability to deliver on its core artistic mission.
He said the decision to reduce staff was not a knee-jerk reaction, but was part of a long-term strategy designed to address the structural flaws of the Abbey's current business model.
Jackson said that the programme is necessary to stabilise the financial health of the company, which showed a deficit of €800,000 in 2003, taking account also of trends in funding and box office revenue.
The programme will focus on the operating and performance model of the theatre as well as reorganising the internal structure of the business.
The aim is to achieve a leaner, more flexible staffing model with a reduction of approximately 30 in core staff from the current total of 91, achieved by reducing the contract staff population and by a voluntary leaving programme for permanent staff.
In addition, the programme will concentrate efforts on maximising additional revenue from box office and through patron and sponsorship programmes.
The Board and Executive of the Theatre believe that the restructuring plan has a key part to play in equipping the Abbey to meet the challenges of a national theatre in the 21st century and to ensure its long term future for audiences and artists alike.
The Abbey is currently celebrating its centenary year and financial problems have already contributed to the postponement of two shows in the Abbey One Hundred programme.
