Staff working in Cumbria for the National Trust have been told the organisation faces cutting around 500 jobs nationally to save £26 million.
The conservation charity, which has a significant presence in Cumbria and employs 11,000 people nationally, looks after historic houses, castles, parks and gardens, said a rise of more than £10m in the cost of employer’s national insurance and the minimum wage in April had outstripped an increase in income from visitors.
“Pay is the biggest part of our costs, and the recent employer’s National Insurance increase and National Living Wage rise added more than £10m to our annual wage bill,” the charity said in a statement.
“We are proposing to reduce our pay bill and are beginning a 45-day consultation period with our staff in order to find savings of £26 million. The proposals would lead to an estimated 6% reduction in jobs. We will, of course, work to minimise compulsory redundancies.”
With an 11,000-strong workforce cuts could amount to the equivalent of 550 full-time jobs. Staff were informed of the cuts in an online briefing yesterday, Thursday July 10 as a 45-day consultation began.
In a statement the trust said: “In the proposed changes we are prioritising the things people told us are important for the new strategy while protecting the things people value most about what we do now.
“This means reaching more people where they live with the nature and culture that helps everyone thrive, while continuing to provide the brilliant experiences visitors and members love at our places.
“We’ll still be caring for nature and heritage every day, as we have done for the last 130 years. The National Trust has existed for so long because it keeps adapting and planning for the long term.
“Although demand and support for our work are growing with yearly increases in visitors and donations; increasing costs are outstripping this growth.”
It is not yet known what impact the changes will have on jobs in Cumbria or the wider work of the organisation.
The National Trust told Business Crack that after the 45-day initial consultation period there will be a period of internal review.
The outcome of the consultation will be communicated to staff in the autumn and the charity hopes to implement implemented new structures early in 2026.
The news comes a month after the Lake District National Park Authority confirmed it faced a budget reduction of just over 8%.
Last year the RSPB in Cumbria avoided cuts when the charity made changes following a review of operations.
