YMCA of Greater Charlotte restructures and lays off workers, agency confirms
The YMCA of Greater Charlotte has made a “limited number” of layoffs as the organization restructures amid its ongoing attempt to bounce back financially after the pandemic.
Heather Briganti, the vice president of communications with the region’s YMCA, confirmed the layoffs on Thursday. She declined to say how many people lost their jobs or what type of positions they held other than it involved a “limited number of positions across the association.”
As the YMCA focuses on sustainability and “implementing a new operating model” a staff realignment has impacted workers, Briganti said.
“These decisions were made to ensure the YMCA is positioned for long-term sustainability and continued community impact,” Briganti said.
Sustainability has been a struggle for the organization since the pandemic.
From 2019 to 2024, revenue has decreased by 26%, according to the YMCA’s publicly available tax records. In its 2024 return, the most recent year available, the YMCA reported a net income loss of over $11.4 million. It’s the second time the organization reported a loss since 2019.
The layoffs won’t disrupt services for members or participants, Briganti said. And the organization will work with the impacted employees.
YMCA of Greater Charlotte’s pandemic woes
During the height of the pandemic in April 2020, the YMCA announced furloughs, pay cuts and layoffs. Then, 55 workers were laid off and over 3,700 employees were furloughed.
A majority of YMCA’s revenue is from membership. That dipped over 60% during the pandemic, and it’s been hard to recover, President and CEO Suehila Glass recently told The Charlotte Observer.
Membership has risen but not to pre-pandemic numbers, Glass has said.
In 2023, to ease the financial strain, the YMCA attempted to sell the Johnston YMCA in NoDa, but that plan fell through.
Last year, the YMCA sold over 11 acres behind the Stratford Richardson Y center off West Boulevard to Duke Energy for almost $10 million.
This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 4:32 PM with the headline "YMCA of Greater Charlotte restructures and lays off workers, agency confirms."
