MuseumCompany.com folded into parent company, cut staff nearly by half

MuseumCompany.com, the sister company and online retailer for Museum Company, is merging with Museum Company. As a result, 15 employees were laid off, leaving the company with 18 employees. The layoffs represented redundant positions, says MuseumCompany.com President Jerry Good. The online retailer was launched in 1999 as a separate company. But in spite of a good year, it made more financial sense to have only one company, Good says. "Everything was quite good," he says. "The real impetus was to get the strength of Museum Company, and the market for capital funding for dot-coms is dried up." This will likely be the last of the layoffs. Museum Company is privately held and sells replicas of museum pieces.