[Episcopal News Service] Washington National Cathedral announced on June 16 that it is making staff cuts “that are both necessary and hard to accept” as the economic damage from the COVID-19 pandemic mounts.
Effective July 1, the cathedral will reduce its full-time workforce by 15%, eliminating 13 full-time and 13 part-time positions. Another 12 full-time employees will be fully or partially furloughed, and most remaining part-time employees will work fewer hours, the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of the cathedral, announced on Facebook.
“I want you to know that these are more than mere numbers on a spreadsheet; each decision involves painful change for treasured colleagues and friends, and it grieves me deeply,” Hollerith wrote. “In my 30 years of ordained ministry, this is the hardest set of decisions I’ve ever had to make.”
Hollerith said he and other senior cathedral staffers will take a 20% pay cut, all employees will see reduced benefits in the coming year, and all raises and new hires will be paused until further notice.
