Covid Scotland: Glasgow Life announces hundreds of job cuts due to venue closures

Glasgow Life, the not-for-profit organisation which runs cultural and sporting venues for the council, has announced around 500 jobs are to be lost.

The charity, which is funded partially through taxpayers’ cash, said it had lost £38m due to the closure of dozens of its venues during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The attractions run by Glasgow Life for the council include Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the People's Palace, Riverside Museum and the Mitchell Library.

Due to the pandemic, 80 of its 171 venues across the city remain shut.

According to a report on the BBC website, Glasgow Life said the job cuts would implemented “over time” and would not involve compulsory redundancies.

Glasgow Life now plans to target early retirement packages and voluntary redundancies.

A spokesperson for the charity told the BBC: “This cost-saving strategy is a vital part of the process of recovery Glasgow Life has been forced to undertake by the global pandemic.”

The attractions run by Glasgow Life for the council include the People's Palace.

The statement said the recovery package was being supported by Glasgow City Council through its £100m funding guarantee for the next five years.

However, it stressed it was “unrealistic to expect that it can raise significant additional income this year that will support the reopening of venues beyond the 91 already announced”.

The spokesperson added: “Glasgow Life will be a very different organisation at the end of this period.

“We are asking staff for flexibility during this process and are regularly updating them through internal communications and briefings from their managers; and unions are also regularly updated.”

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