The chief executive of the English heritage has decreased, to the exemption from some staff that became angry with cost savings under his watch.
News about the departure of Nick Merriman was welcomed by some heritage experts and others who were disadvantageously affected by his restructuring plans.
The Guardian reported in January that the staff was shocked to discover that the organization was planning up to 200 with cash to plan at least 7% of the staff, with curators who were particularly focused on the winter closing of different castles, abbeys and other historical locations in his care.
Under the cuts, 22 sites had to become ‘hidden gems’, with limited openings, while experts would be made superfluous throughout the organization or fewer roles would be offered on reduced wages.
One source said about the departure of Merriman: “Very good people are forced to have been forced. Of those who survived, no one seems happy with the results of the restructuring.”
The chairman of the Trustees, Gerard Lemos,, however, said in an official statement to the staff: “I am sorry to say that Nick asked to resign from his role as Chief Executive for personal reasons with regard to family health. The board has approved his request with his request that will take place with immediate effect.
He added: “Since February 2024, Nick has led the English heritage through a challenging time, in which he has supervised an important change program aimed at delivering financial sustainability.”
English Heritage provides more than 400 historical monuments, buildings and sites. Because the charity no longer receives a government subsidy, it depends on membership, tickets and sales in its stores and cafés. Before the dismissals it had 2,535 employees and around 5,000 volunteers.
His attempts to restructure themselves to save costs fell earlier this year in chaos. Everything was meant to have been in force in April, but the staff was still unclear about the plans weeks later, while they heard that various consultants had been hired – undoubtedly adopted considerable reimbursements.
One insider spoke about his dismay in April about when or how they would be selected for vacancies: “People who were the only candidate in selection pools were forced to have interviews – and then told that they do not have the job without a good reason that is given. A case study of how not to do a reorganization.”
On Tuesday they spoke about the way people were made superfluous: “There are persistent bitter resentment, both from the people who have left and the people who survived.”
In April, English Heritage defended the cuts and said: “The purpose of these proposals is to ensure that English heritage is financially resilient and can fulfill our charity purposes. We are committed to working with our employees and our trade unions to find ways to avoid and reduce where we can.”
Some employees also found that Merriman seemed to have removed the organization from its core role. One insider said: “That responsibility is to take care of pre-modern monuments. But he never seemed to be interested in it.”
Another source said: “There has been many gossip about how much of it was driven by Nick Merriman and how much came from the Trustees.”
Another added: “Everyone thinks he may have been pushed by the managers. Apparently they lost confidence a while ago.”
The managers have asked Geoff Parkin to serve as interim chief executive. He has worked with English heritage in the past year, “to create a new commercial strategy, together with the performance as a non-executive chairman of two private equity-backed travel companies,” Lord Lemos noted.
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