Twin Cities YMCA lays off 69 employees amid tightening finances

The YMCA of the North has laid off 69 employees as the nonprofit continues to struggle financially due to inflation, rising expenses and changing consumer behaviors.

Leaders at the Y, formerly the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities, confirmed Friday that 59 full-time employees and about 10 part-timers were laid off the first week of September, making up about 1.8% of its workforce.

"This included every aspect of the Y," said Michelle Edgerton, the Y's executive vice president of advancement. "It's a sad moment at the Y, because ... our team members are impacted. At the same time, we are looking at what is necessary for us to remain present in our community as long as our community needs us."

The Y is one of the largest nonprofits in Minnesota and the third-largest YMCA in the U.S. The organization has reported deficits every year since 2020, when it shuttered its gyms due to the COVID-19 outbreak and lost thousands of memberships.

In 2020, the organization had 82,000 members; that number had fallen to 54,000 members in 2024, although numbers are increasing now, Edgerton said. Before the latest layoffs, the organization had 3,900 employees, down from 6,700 workers in 2020.

The Y, which had a budget of about $160 million this year and last year, ran a deficit of $10 million in 2023 and anticipates having a $6 million deficit this year, Edgerton said.

According to its tax filings, the organization had a $10 million deficit in 2022, up from a $7.6 million shortfall in 2021 and a $2.5 million deficit in 2020. Edgerton said the Y is on track to break even in 2025.

The YMCA isn't the only nonprofit confronting difficult finances. A new survey released Thursday showed that nearly 80% of Minnesota nonprofits have less than 12 months before they face financial distress, the highest number of organizations struggling financially since the summer of 2020.

The new data, released by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, shows how the pandemic and the economic challenges of the last four years may forever reshape the sector, leaving some nonprofits smaller than they were in 2019 while others are being forced to close their doors for good. Many nonprofits say donations are declining or not keeping pace with rising expenses.

Last year, the YWCA Minneapolis shocked the community by closing its longtime Uptown and downtown fitness centers and pools, with leaders saying then that they were moving away from health and fitness to focus on child care, racial equity and youth programs.

The YWCA laid off 45 employees — about 13% of its workforce — due to the closures and sold its downtown building to St. David's Center for Child and Family Development while the Uptown facility was converted into a workforce development and job training hub.

At the YMCA, which is headquartered in downtown Minneapolis, officials closed fitness centers in downtown St. Paul, Lino Lakes and Prior Lake in 2020 and laid off 146 part-time and full-time staff. Then in 2022, the Y shut down the Marsh in Minnetonka before selling it to the west metro suburb and nixed plans to build a boutique fitness facility in downtown St. Paul.

At the time, CEO Glen Gunderson said the Y, too, was shifting its focus from traditional buildings — usually a gym — to broader community programs, ranging from well-being and equity to online classes. On Friday, Edgerton said the Y isn't planning any other facility closures or cuts at this time.