A restructuring process is underway at York Minster, and is likely to involve redundancies.
Governing body the Chapter of York sent a letter to staff on Friday (24 July) to explain how it might restructure parts of the cathedral in response to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Minster closed its doors to worshippers and sightseeing visitors on 16 March.
Despite having now reopened, the closure has had a huge financial impact on the organisation and Chapter is forecasting a shortfall against budget of up to £5.2m in 2020.
Collective process
A spokeswoman for York Minster said: “As part of its measures to safeguard its future, Chapter is now beginning the process to restructure parts of the organisation, and this may lead to redundancies.
“Our first step is to invite nominations to elect employee representatives from affected departments so we can begin the collective consultation process.
“The letter to staff communicated the first steps so we can begin a consultation process. Proposals will be announced once the consultation is complete.
“Staff will be consulted collectively and individually but in order to start this process, we need to elect employee representatives from affected departments.
“We are currently at the proposal stage and won’t know the outcome until we have concluded the collective consultation process.”
Last month the Chapter announced it was closing the Minster School as a result of the financial shortfall.
The school’s origins can be traced back to 627.