Both workers at the two-person Rochester office were laid off; no jobs were displaced at the Long Island location, which was operated by a management group. The trade group’s Albany headquarters and New York City office, which handles its insurance subsidiary, will stay open, according to a report in the Albany Business Journal.
In an earlier cost-cutting measure, two employees from the Albany office were laid off in December and January.
The cuts are expected to slash the organization’s $2 million annual budget by $350,000, said ceo Rick Sampson, who noted that the layoffs were the first in his 34-year tenure with the organization.
Membership dropped 10 percent from last year, to 2,700, the result of increased restaurant closings and fewer restaurant openings. But that was only part of the reason for the cuts. Sampson is planning for an economy that he expects will get worse before it gets better.
“This was done in anticipation of what could come. We had to make sure our association remains in solid shape. I don’t want to be sitting here in September and looking back with regret,” he said. More staff changes aren’t planned at this point, Sampson said.
Dues for the association range from $350 to $3,500, depending on the member’s volume of business.
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