SCOOP: Kennedy Center cuts 13 jobs in efforts to dig out of severe financial hardship

The world-renowned Kennedy Center is laying off 13 employees across its education and development departments, the Washington Reporter can exclusively report.

The cuts are the latest part of cost savings that have totaled $10 million from staff reductions alone.

The cuts — viewed as a “financial necessity” by those familiar with the Center’s poor finances — come as its new leadership, led by President Donald Trump and Ric Grenell, aim to rightsize the budget that they have repeatedly categorized as failing.

In a previous interview with the Reporter, Grenell noted his predecessor’s “criminal” financial mismanagement of the center.

“For the last several months before I got to the Kennedy Center, all staff payroll was being done through debt reserves,” Grenell previously said.

“At the end of the day, what my management is doing for the Kennedy Center is going through every department, questioning the number of people and the mission for each department, and trying to get us refocused on a common sense mission: bringing arts and entertainment to the Kennedy Center that actually sell tickets,” he continued.

When Grenell and his team arrived, the center had no cash on hand.

In the past few weeks, the Center has posted record-breaking attendance from a series of shows while also welcoming new acts — including Dolly Parton’s Threads show, which will debut this summer.

Grenell’s latest round of staff cuts are not expected to negatively impact the experience patrons have at the center.