The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center laid off 20 of its 140 full-time employees today, said TBPAC Vice President of Marketing Michael Kilgore. The layoffs occurred "in various departments at various levels," he said, emphasizing that the cuts were a business decision and not related to performance. The Center has experienced declines in ticket revenues, donations (particularly at the corporate level) and endowment, and the changes were necessary both "for the budget now, and the budget going forward."
Kilgore said the Center had not released the names of the individuals yet, preferring "to let them tell people they wanted to tell." But CL confirmed that one of the people affected was Senior Marketing Manager David Jenkins, better known to most Tampanians as the artistic director of Jobsite Theater (and occasional CL blogger). The Jobsite relationship with TBPAC will not change, Jenkins said in an email.
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2009.