In a second round, Meow Wolf lays off 75 workers

Jerome Morrison was waiting for a human resources meeting on Thursday morning, knowing his time at the Santa Fe-based immersive arts and entertainment company Meow Wolf was coming to an end.

“I wasn’t surprised,” said Morrison, a product manager on Meow Wolf’s technology innovation team who had been with the company for six years.

Morrison, also the secretary-treasurer for the union Meow Wolf Workers Collective, is among 75 workers notified this week by company officials that they had lost their jobs.

The cuts represent about 8% of Meow Wolf workers overall and 20% of the company’s non-exhibition operations, said Meow Wolf spokesperson Kate Daley.

It is the second time this year Meow Wolf, which has gained global notoriety for its exhibitions across the U.S., has laid off employees. Meow Wolf cut 159 employees in April, about 29 of whom were corporate and exhibition workers in New Mexico. Roughly 60% of workers cut in the latest round by the company are based in the state, Daley said.

The layoffs also largely affected non-union members, roughly 70% of which are not associated with Meow Wolf Workers Collective, Daley said. Meow Wolf Workers Collective officials said over a dozen workers lost their jobs.

In a statement provided to the Journal, Meow Wolf Workers Collective Executive Vice President Michael Wilson said it is a “sad day for Meow Wolf workers and fans.”

“We need to break this cycle. It’s time for company-wide change that focuses on the people who make Meow Wolf what it is,” said Wilson, a senior story editor with Meow Wolf. “We would like to acknowledge the executives who have worked with the union to lower the number of unionized workers who were laid off. They see that Meow Wolf is its people first, and we look forward to continuing to work with these individuals moving forward.”

The Meow Wolf layoffs largely affected the general and administrative team and exhibition project team, Daley said. They come as the company navigates “shifting financial realities and evolving priorities,” Daley said.

Despite the two restructurings, Meow Wolf this year announced a sixth exhibition under development for 2026 in Los Angeles and opened its fifth in Houston in October. One of Meow Wolf’s founders, Vince Kadlubek, also rejoined the staff as chief vision officer.

Daley called the layoffs a “difficult transition and an opportunity to refocus Meow Wolf’s future strategy.”

“We are deeply grateful to all the individuals who are departing for their contributions to Meow Wolf,” she said in a statement. “Their passion, creativity, and dedication have shaped the company’s growth and its standing as a leader in the immersive arts. We remain committed to delivering groundbreaking experiences that inspire and connect people around the world.”

Morrison, 36, said he plans to weigh his options for the next stop in his career. But he also plans to voice his concerns about where things went wrong for Meow Wolf.

“When you’re employed somewhere, you can’t speak too publicly about the things that have happened there,” Morrison said. “Over the last couple of years, I’ve done a lot of research, a lot of reading, a lot of study and design on the work that I should be doing, and have some deep criticisms for why it was that Meow Wolf has gone astray. I’m very much looking forward to being able to exercise my voice in a way that I could not as an employee of the company. ...

“I also have a lot of other connections that I’ve made throughout the years, both through Meow Wolf and then in my time before Meow Wolf, that I’m just going to be reaching back out to. We’ll see where it is that I land. But I’m not so worried about myself. I’ve got a lot of skills, talents, lots of education and good connections.”