Kennedy Center staffers received a memo this week warning that impending job cuts will leave “skeletal teams” in place as the embattled institution prepares to close for two years of renovations.
The center’s president, Richard Grenell, informed workers on Tuesday that “departments will obviously function on a much smaller scale” due to adjustments expected to be both permanent and temporary as operations grind to a halt in July.
President Trump announced at the start of February that the country’s premier cultural institution would undergo a major overhaul he expects to cost $200 million. While announcing the renovation, he referred to the Kennedy Center as a “tired, broken and dilapidated” venue that “has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years.”
In Grenell’s memo to staffers, obtained by The Associated Press, he said Kennedy Center department heads will spend the next few months evaluating what personnel is necessary to keep in place over the next few years.
He said those in charge will “provide as much clarity and advance notice as possible” about the upcoming changes. A Kennedy Center spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday.
It’s unclear exactly how many employees the center currently has, and how many will be affected by the cuts. A 2025 tax filing showed the Kennedy Center employed roughly 2,500 people during 2023.
Reshaping the Kennedy Center has been a priority for Trump since he returned to the White House in January 2025. The president vowed to eliminate what he referred to as “woke” programming, while installing a handpicked board of trustees, which he chairs.
That board voted in December to add Trump’s name to the wall of the living memorial to slain President John F. Kennedy. Much to Grenell’s chagrin, numerous artists subsequently canceled their plans to perform there.
The center was recently used to host the premiere of Melania Trump’s new documentary. Amazon MGM Studios reportedly paid $40 million for the film, which provides a peek into the 20 days leading up to Melania becoming the nation’s first lady for the second time.
The documentary, which reportedly cost a total of $75 million to make and market, has recovered a little more than $13.3 million domestically, according to USA Today.
With News Wire Services
