The California Academy of Sciences is cutting 53 jobs and trimming another 32 positions through reassignments or reduced hours, a move that hits roughly 9.3% of its workforce as the San Francisco institution tries to climb out of deepening budget trouble. The cuts follow a multimillion-dollar deficit reported last year and arrive as leadership scrambles to close a growing financial gap.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the academy logged a $7.3 million deficit for fiscal 2025 and is bracing for losses of up to $8 million this year. Chief Financial Officer Mathew Lau told the outlet that salaries and benefits make up about 70% of the operating budget and that "expenses are growing faster than our revenues." The full-price daytime admissions are down compared with last year, putting extra pressure on ticket-driven revenue.
What’s Being Cut
Academy leaders told the San Francisco Chronicle that the reductions will touch management, union-represented staff and non-union roles alike. The 53 layoffs, plus the 32 reassignments or hour cuts, were mapped out to avoid additional rounds later.
Executive Director Scott D. Sampson described the decision as both strategic and wrenching. "These cuts are deeply painful, yet we believe they’re essential to enable us to deliver on our mission sustainably in the long term," he told the San Francisco Chronicle. Officials said they tried to protect core priorities such as visitor experience, education programs and scientific research while trimming costs.
Workers and the Union
The timing lands right in the middle of contract talks with Cal Academy Workers United, which has been pressing management on finances and warning that layoffs could undercut key programs. On its press page, Cal Academy Workers United highlights member and community actions focused on staffing and program stability as negotiations continue.
The union has publicly chronicled past staffing disputes and repeated calls for clearer financial disclosure from leadership, framing transparency as essential to protecting both workers and the academy’s public mission.
What’s at Stake
The Golden Gate Park campus is not just a tourist magnet. It cares for tens of thousands of live animals and oversees a scientific collection that the institution says includes nearly 46 million specimens. Staffing changes in that environment are not a simple budgeting exercise.
In its press materials, the California Academy of Sciences describes those collections as a global research resource and highlights recent grants and digitization projects meant to protect and expand access to them. The academy underscores that collection care and research are central to its mission, not side projects.
What Comes Next
Union leaders say they plan to scrutinize how the cuts are rolled out, push for protections or remedies for affected staff and lean on management to fully honor bargaining-unit notification rules. On its updates page, Cal Academy Workers United says members will keep organizing and demanding transparency as talks move forward, while calling for public backing to safeguard programs and ensure fair treatment for employees.
Academy officials, for their part, say they hope this round of reductions will steady the finances and head off future cuts. They are pointing to upcoming exhibitions and community science programs as key pieces of a plan to rebuild attendance and earned income. The California Academy of Sciences press calendar highlights spring and summer efforts aimed at pulling both locals and visitors back into Golden Gate Park, with leadership pitching community engagement as the path through the current shortfall.
