Redundancies prompted by cuts in Renaissance in the Regions funding, falling investment returns and other shortfalls will be implemented in several museums over the next few months.
Tim Ewin, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery's former curator of geology, estimated nine of the city's 26 curators and eight of the 13 conservation staff could be axed as departments are amalgamated, based on the number of positions staff were asked to reapply for.
"This will have serious repercussions," he said. "If you reinstate these posts in a couple of years with different people, it will take them years to get to know the collections."
Ewin said the £5m deficit was caused by money being transferred to the delayed Museum of Bristol project.
A spokeswoman for Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives said the service was being reviewed as a result of the cut in government funding. A council select committee meeting was scheduled to take place as Museums Journal went to press.
Truro's Royal Cornwall Museum plans to make 12 of 33 full-time posts redundant as a result of its £1.5m income being cut by 40 per cent due to a reduction in Renaissance funding, plummeting investment income, reduced proceeds from a property sale and Cornwall's move to unitary authority status.
Georgia Butters, the museum's assistant director for development and communications, said the museum was in "a hiatus" following the switch to unitary authority status on 1 April, which meant emergency funding was not easy to obtain for the museum, as it is an independent charity.
She added that redundancies would be finalised by early summer, and although there would be no gallery closures, some services would be "significantly" reduced.
Meanwhile, National Museum Wales plans 14 voluntary redundancies among the 700 workers across its seven locations. They follow the Welsh Assembly's decision to increase the museums' 2009-10 grant by only £567,000 to just over £23m.
A spokesman said some senior posts were under discussion, but declined to give details until a consultation period was concluded by mid-July.
Tim Ewin, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery's former curator of geology, estimated nine of the city's 26 curators and eight of the 13 conservation staff could be axed as departments are amalgamated, based on the number of positions staff were asked to reapply for.
"This will have serious repercussions," he said. "If you reinstate these posts in a couple of years with different people, it will take them years to get to know the collections."
Ewin said the £5m deficit was caused by money being transferred to the delayed Museum of Bristol project.
A spokeswoman for Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives said the service was being reviewed as a result of the cut in government funding. A council select committee meeting was scheduled to take place as Museums Journal went to press.
Truro's Royal Cornwall Museum plans to make 12 of 33 full-time posts redundant as a result of its £1.5m income being cut by 40 per cent due to a reduction in Renaissance funding, plummeting investment income, reduced proceeds from a property sale and Cornwall's move to unitary authority status.
Georgia Butters, the museum's assistant director for development and communications, said the museum was in "a hiatus" following the switch to unitary authority status on 1 April, which meant emergency funding was not easy to obtain for the museum, as it is an independent charity.
She added that redundancies would be finalised by early summer, and although there would be no gallery closures, some services would be "significantly" reduced.
Meanwhile, National Museum Wales plans 14 voluntary redundancies among the 700 workers across its seven locations. They follow the Welsh Assembly's decision to increase the museums' 2009-10 grant by only £567,000 to just over £23m.
A spokesman said some senior posts were under discussion, but declined to give details until a consultation period was concluded by mid-July.
