“Most of the staff” laid off at OKPOP Museum, former employee says

Several employees at the OKPOP Museum in Tulsa have been laid off, multiple former employees told KRMG.

One of those former employees, Kolby Webster, said 11 people were let go from the museum which has yet to open.

“That’s most of the staff.” Webster said.

According to Webster, employees were told operational funding had run out. He expressed his support of the mission at OKPOP, but voiced frustration over how the project has lagged.

“The state ultimately didn’t put its full weight behind the project.” Webster added.

The layoffs come just weeks after Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill that created an $18 million fund for OKPOP. It requires the museum to raise $18 million in matching funds through private donations.

Construction began in 2019 and the building itself has been finished for some time, but the museum is still trying to raise money and is still gathering items for exhibits.

KRMG received the following statement from Jake Krumwiede, director of OKPOP:

“Our team at OKPOP has been working on three key objectives. First, securing state matching support of $18 million through the passage and signature of Senate Bill 1155. Second, raising $18 million in private dollars for the legislative match. And third, acquiring and cataloging collections to complete the exhibit plan for the museum. We secured grants that allowed us to invest in an amazing team doing tremendous behind-the-scenes work in collections, social media, events, and building management.

With the signing of SB 1155, the goal is set, and the timer is running to complete fundraising by November 2025. We are confident in our ability to reach this private funding goal but realize we need to focus all our efforts in this direction at this time.

Toward that end, we have made the hard decision to temporarily reduce our staff until the museum build-out is fully funded; these transitions will go into effect August 30.

We want to thank all of the staff and volunteers who have worked diligently to build the foundational collections and materials that will bring this museum to life once fundraising is completed.”

KRMG’s Full Access OK Podcast got a behind-the-scenes look at OKPOP and sat down with Krumwiede in March 2024.

Listen here