Meow Wolf to layoff 165 workers across the US amid Texas expansion

Meow Wolf , an arts and entertainment corporation, announced last month that it would be laying off 165 of its reported 911 employees among all of the company’s sectors.

The major art player has one exhibit in Grapevine, TX, and has plans to open another in Houston’s fifth ward later this year.

A letter released from the Meow Wolf Workers Collective outlined frustration with the company’s decision to once again lay off workers.

“These cuts will harm working creatives, many of whom were living at near-poverty conditions before the layoffs,” the letter detailed, “We expect these cuts to greatly impact our ability to not only make art, but to operate our exhibitions.”

What is Meow Wolf?

Started in 2018, Meow Wolf was created to function as a small collective of Santa Fe artists who shared an interest in showing their works and developing as artists in various fields. This original idea would eventually morph into the immersive and maximalist-influenced experience environments that Meow Wolf is now known for.

The art company currently offers art experiences in Santa Fe, Denver, Las Vegas and Grapevine.

How will layoffs affect workers in Texas?

At the time of writing, Meow Wolf has not commented on where exactly the layoffs will be seen. However, the letter from the Workers Collective implies that they will be felt across the company, on both the corporate and exhibit sides of the business.

Meow Wolf has also not commented on whether the impending layoffs will affect the Houston location that the company said it plans to open this year.

Why is Meow Wolf laying people off?

Employees have said that the company justified the layoffs as an attempt to reduce expenses by 10% to try and ease financial hardships.

This is not the first time the company has enacted mass layoffs. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Meow Wolf laid off 201 employees.

Beck Andrew Salgado covers trending topics in the Austin business ecosystem for the American-Statesman . To share additional tips or insights with Salgado , email Bsalgado@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Meow Wolf to layoff 165 workers across the US amid Texas expansion