The Trustees of Reservations say that layoffs felt across their organization will not impact their beach operations on the Vineyard.
Trustees CEO and President Katie Theoharides recently issued a letter to governance members, stating that the nonprofit is restructuring, and laying off 10 percent of its workforce.
“This restructuring was necessary to address a multimillion-dollar structural deficit in our operating model that we have been carrying for the past several years,” Theoharides wrote. “The reduction in workforce and other spending cuts will effectively address this deficit, and put the Trustees on course for a sustainable future.”
A total of 30 employees, including one on the Vineyard, were laid off, and 10 vacant positions were eliminated, Trustees spokesperson Mary Dettloff told The Times by email.
“This will not impact beach operations on the Island,” she wrote. “The Trustees has fully budgeted and approved all staffing associated with meeting the obligations of the Order of Conditions and implementing the performance standards of the Wetlands Protection Act or the local bylaw.”
When asked which position on the Island was cut, Dettloff declined to comment for the employee’s privacy.
The Trustees manage a number of properties on the Island, including Wasque and Cape Poge Wildlife Area, both on Chappaquiddick. The nonprofit is currently applying to the Edgartown conservation commission to sell OSV permits for its Chappy properties in a contentious application process that has gone on for several months.
Across the state, the organization manages more than 100 properties, or nearly 27,000 acres.
According to Theoharides, no additional layoffs are planned, and laid-off employees will be supported while looking for new jobs. The president wrote in the notice that a variety of factors led to the layoffs, including significant growth of the organization, high labor and supply chain costs, and impacts from the COVID pandemic.
