YORK Museums Trust has axed 43 jobs as it battles to survive a dramatic loss of income in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The trust, which runs the Castle Museum, the Yorkshire Museum and Museum Gardens, and York Art Gallery, says there are 17 voluntary and 26 compulsory redundancies.

Chief executive Reyahn King said she was 'devastated' to have had to lose so many people who had worked so hard to make the trust what it was today.

But she said: "Without reducing the size of our workforce, we would not be in a position to survive and rebuild after the significant financial impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had, and continues to have, on the trust.

"This is despite our best efforts to source emergency funding and reduce our costs in every other way. "This restructure will allow the Trust to make the vital annual saving of £570,000 to ensure survival of the charity for the future."

She said the redundancies followed a collective consultation that concluded on September 30, in which she had listened, responded and acted on staff and trade unions’ comments and feedback to absorb the reductions and create a new structure for the charity.

"It will see the Trust’s workforce reduce, through voluntary and compulsory redundancy, from 144 to 101 staff as of November 1, 2020," she said. "This represents a loss of 37.67 full time equivalent roles.

"I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in these consultations, including those whose jobs have sadly been affected.

" It is their hard work and commitment over the years which has made us into a successful organisation and helped us achieve so much. I would like to wish them all the best for the future during what I know is a very difficult time.

"Like many organisations and businesses, we continue to evolve and adapt to the challenges caused by the pandemic."

She said the partial reopening of York Art Gallery and York Castle Museum between the first and second national lockdowns had proved popular.

"It was fantastic to see people enjoying and engaging with the cultural heritage in our care again. York Museum Gardens remain open as a vital resource for people to enjoy during such challenging times," she said.

"I would like to thank everyone who visited for supporting us by buying a ticket or purchasing from our shops and café. I would also like to thank every single person, and organisation, who has donated to York Museums Trust during the past few months.

"All of these contributions have made a big difference to our continued operations and we can’t thank you enough. We are determined that the charity will continue to fulfil its mission inspiring people, sharing and caring for the very special art and collections, gardens, buildings and heritage sites in York."

She said she looked forward to welcoming people back to York Art Gallery and York Castle Museum, hopefully in early December.