Damien Hirst is making 50 staff at his company Science Ltd redundant across its London and Gloucestershire locations, it can be revealed.
The job cuts, which have been made in a range of areas, are mostly in corporate functions of the business such as finance and IT.
A spokesman for the company told Press Association: “Damien has made the difficult decision to make some changes at his company, Science Ltd.
“These changes are not driven by a need to reduce costs but by his desire to cut the corporate elements of the business to get back to a simpler way of working focusing on his art.”
In 2008 a two-day auction of Hirst’s work broke records for the most raised in a sale dedicated to a single artist (Fiona Hanson/PA)
The PA also understands that Hirst has just bought a new studio space in London’s Soho for around £40 million.
Sources close to the company said the redundancies would help to scale back some parts of the business but invest in others.
Science Ltd is a holding company for all the ventures and projects related to Hirst’s artworks.
This includes building and installing pieces and the Newport Street Gallery in Vauxhall which displays works from his private collection.
Hirst, one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the 1990s UK art scene, has created works which sold for record amounts.
In 2008 a two-day auction of his work broke records for the most raised in a sale dedicated to a single artist, making more than £111 million.
New research from Artnet showed on Wednesday that all but two of his 19 works resold publicly in the last decade have fallen in value.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here