The Eden Project, one of Cornwall's most popular tourist and environmental attractions, is cutting up to 80 jobs. The losses represent around a 20% reduction in its current workforce of 400, equating to one in five roles.
It is the second round of job cuts announced by the Bodelva attraction, which has been operating at a loss, in less than two years. In May 2023, Eden Project revealed that 20 positions were at risk, although efforts were made to minimise job losses through voluntary redundancies.
At the time, management attributed the proposed redundancies to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on visitor numbers and revenues over the preceding year, as well as organisational restructuring aimed at creating more efficient ways of working to support future growth plans. The attraction, known for its tropical and Mediterranean biomes, environmental initiatives, and Eden Session music events, has once again confirmed job cuts due to "considerable economic challenges".
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A decline in tourism, reduced visitor numbers, and escalating operational costs have been cited as reasons for the decision.
A spokesperson for the Eden Project told our sister site CornwallLive: "The Eden Project is initiating proactive measures to ensure the long term economic stability of the organisation. We have explored every option and will create a new structure as a result of considerable economic challenges. This will involve reducing our payroll by an estimated 20 per cent, equivalent to around 80 redundancies, including 19 who have elected to leave voluntarily through voluntary redundancy or retirement.
"A number of factors including the contraction of the visitor economy across the south west as well as significantly increased costs to businesses have made this process necessary. This process will set us on a path to continue our vital work as an environmental charity and a thriving visitor destination for our second quarter century and beyond."
"The Eden Project will now begin a consultation period lasting at least 45 days. Affected team members will be supported by the Members Assembly, the Eden Project's staff representative body, and every effort will be made to minimise the number of job losses, with alternative roles or retraining offered where possible."
As highlighted by BusinessLive, this announcement arrives as the charity reported a £1.5m loss for its latest financial year, despite a rise in visitor numbers, with over 604,000 guests in the year ending March 31, 2024, up from just over 551,000 the previous 12 months.
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Turnover increased from £23.2m to £24.2m due to the rise in visitor numbers. However, this growth was not enough to prevent pre-tax losses from nearly doubling, from £868,000 to £1.5m, as revealed in recently filed accounts at Companies House.
This news comes as the Eden Project is expected to open a new location in Morecambe, Lancashire, between 2027 and 2028. At the end of January 2022, Lancashire City Council granted planning permission for the £125m project.
Initially expected to open in 2024, the project has faced several delays but is anticipated to create over 400 direct jobs and support a further 1,500 employment opportunities in the region. The Eden Project North will be situated on the site of the former Bubbles leisure complex, near the Winter Gardens and Midland Hotel.
When the development was approved by the local authority, it was estimated that the project would inject £200m annually into the local economy. In a statement approved by its board, Eden commented on its financial loss, stating: "During this financial year, we emerged from the aftershocks of Russia invading Ukraine and the knock on effect on global energy prices, to a period of receding inflation and lowering interest rates.
"However, consumer confidence is still negative, but significantly improved over its all time low in October 2022. All of these factors impacted the trading results of Eden Project Limited during 2023/24.
"Given the challenging conditions from last year and ongoing macro-economic uncertainty, we will continue to diligently control our resources but invest back into our principal asset, the Eden Project site, where necessary."
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