Met Opera ends fiscal year 2014 with $22M deficit; balanced budgets expected for 2015, 2016

NEW YORK, N.Y. – New York City’s Metropolitan Opera says it has ended its 2014 fiscal year with a $22 million shortfall in its budget.

But the opera company said in a statement Thursday that steps including new labour contracts are expected to bring in enough savings to balance the budgets in the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years.

The Met says its cost controls also include cutting 22 administrative staff jobs and reducing departmental budgets by $11.25 million. Its statement didn’t reveal the size of the overall budget.

The Met, the nation’s largest performing arts organization, ran a $2.8 million deficit last season on a budget of $327 million.

Fifteen unions representing about 2,500 workers reached labour agreements with the Met over the summer.