A four-month-old polar bear cub stretches following a nap next to his 22-year-old mother Arki at suburban Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo May 2, 2007 in Brookfield, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Reporting Bob Conway
BROOKFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Eleven jobs are being cut at Brookfield Zoo to help close a $1.3 million budget shortfall.
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The Chicago Zoological Society announced the staff reductions on Monday, citing budget adjustments and reductions that it says are necessary to ensure financial stability in 2011. The staff cuts bring the society’s workforce to a 15-year low. The society says the staff cuts don’t include positions that deal with animal welfare or public safety.
The society also announced wage freezes for non-union workers, the elimination of paid internships along with reductions in seasonal labor, operating expenses and leadership salaries. Two animal exhibit yards are to be closed and the animals sent to other accredited institutions.
The society says this is the second time in two years it has had to make cuts.
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