Academy Foundation dissolves oral history project and lays off staff; union calls it 'reckless choice'

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The Academy Foundation earlier this month laid off all five staffers with its Oral History Projects team, effectively dissolving the department responsible for conducting and preserving interviews with notable members of the film industry.Two of those laid off were transitioned into different union roles within the Academy Foundation, the organization confirmed, Friday.The layoffs were part of a consolidation of the collections department at the Academy Foundation, which along with the Academy Museum is operated under the umbrella of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Four of the five staffers who previously comprised the Oral History Projects department were in union roles.Movies The Academy Gold internship program was created to boost career opportunities for young people from underrepresented backgrounds.

We checked in with six alumni to see how it’s working.In a statement posted on social media, the Academy Foundation Workers Union, AFSCME Local 126, called the cuts “a sad and reckless choice.” It also expressed frustration with what it called the Foundation’s “lack of transparency” and “disregard for the skills and expertise of our colleagues” during the restructuring.“The Academy’s decision to abandon this dedicated project devalues the labor required to produce intellectually stimulating and rigorous long-form interviews, as well as underestimating the historical worth of each individual story,” the union wrote in an email to The Times.The academy said that existing oral histories will remain accessible through its archive, and that it will continue to preserve film history through its museum, collection and digital initiatives.

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