SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Santa Fe-based immersive art collective Meow Wolf plans to lay off 165 workers. Meow Wolf CEO Jose Tolosa made the announcement in an email to all employees Monday night.
“Meow Wolf notified our colleagues that we will soon be cutting expenses by 10% and reducing our workforce by 165 people company-wide in order to right-size the business to ensure future success,” Tolosa wrote in part in an email statement to KRQE News 13 on Tuesday.
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The cuts include 111 employees across the exhibitions and corporate teams. Additionally, Meow Wolf is proposing to eliminate 54 bargaining unit positions in Las Vegas. The company said it is “actively negotiating with the union [Meow Wolf Workers Collective] as there is no collective bargaining agreement in place.”
In the email to employees, Tolosa told employees that the company overestimated staffing with the model that it launched in 2021. Those affected by the layoffs will have individual meetings with other staff on Wednesday. “We will be offering a comprehensive separation package, including severance payments tied to years of service, extended healthcare coverage and outplacement services for career support, in addition to other resources. We also have deep relationships with many arts and culture organizations within our communities, and we will leverage these connections to help assist those looking for new opportunities,” Tolosa wrote in the email to employees.
Meow Wolf opened its first large-scale art installation in Santa Fe in 2008. Since then, it has expanded and now has installations in Texas, Nevada, and Colorado.
