The Metropolitan Opera announced Thursday it is canceling the rest of its 2020-21 season amid the coronavirus pandemic and suspending the employment of union workers after March.
The Met is the largest performing arts organization in the country, with an annual operating budget of $308 million. Last week the New York company canceled all shows through the end of the month _ a move also made by Broadway theaters and other major cultural institutions across the country as large gatherings of people threatened to expand the reach of COVID-19.
A Met representative clarified that an early report Thursday of layoffs was incorrect. The company is paying union employees through the end of the month, then suspending pay. The company said it will continue providing healthcare benefits "throughout the crisis."
The company said that higher-paid members of the administrative staff will be taking reductions in pay and that the Met's general manager, Peter Gelb, is forgoing his salary entirely.
Check back for reaction and updates throughout the day.
