Christie's auction house starts staff layoffs

photo from Flickr/Daquella manera

Christie's has began "massive layoffs," according to Art Fag City, who sounds like they have the inside scoop. The blog says that on Monday, an email at 10 a.m. warning of staff cuts was followed by several staffers vanishing from the building by noon. Besides personnel, departments are being cut. A Christie's press release states:

Effective January 12, 2009, we have begun a company-wide reorganization review, which includes the possibility of significant staff reductions, not renewing many consultants’ contracts and the continuation of other cost reduction initiatives, that will ensure we remain competitive and profitable in 2009. Any staff reductions that might be necessary will be implemented globally in accordance with local regulations and in as considered and timely a manner as is possible.

My feelings remain very mixed on this. The prices the auction houses reeled in last year were a little sickening. Writing my High/Low reports got depressing–people just had too much money to throw at stuff like James Brown's dental floss (kidding, but it's close to the mark). It's nice to see the excess dampened–but why couldn't anyone look ahead and save some cash for a "rainy day employee salary fund." Any opinions?

Christie's Begins Massive Layoffs [Art Fag City]
Christie’s to Cut Jobs as Crisis Cuts Auction Sales (Update4) [Bloomburg.com]
Christie's Cuts Costs as Art Market Slows [New York Times]