March 26 (UPI) — The Kennedy Center on Thursday started to lay off staff, including several high ranking employees, ahead of a two-year shutdown for renovations ordered by President Donald Trump.

Although the number of people who were let go has not been clarified, at least two people laid off were hired by former Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell as executive vice president and vice president, The Washington Post reported.

“Staffing decisions will support the broader move toward a successful closure for renovations,” a Kennedy Center spokesperson told Politico.

The layoffs were announced to the center’s staff on Wednesday in an email by Matt Floca, who replaced Grenell as it’s president earlier this month.

“In the days and weeks ahead, we will begin executing the difficult staffing decisions that support the broader operation changes required to meet the realities of this time at the Center,” Floca wrote.

“Each of you has contributed to the legacy of this institution, and these decisions have not been made lightly,” he said.

Grenell served as president at the center in February 2025 when Trump made himself chairman of its board, which led to changes in programming and declines in ticket sales that led to budget cuts and the layoffs of hundreds of employees, Axios reported.

Among Thursday’s layoffs were the center’s vice president, Nick Meade, and it’s executive vice president, Rick Loughery, who both were among Grenell’s top advisors during his time running the center.

Loughery, who was previously national chair for the Young Republicans, and Meade, a longtime advisor to Grenell, have both been named in a Senate investigation into the center’s spending and booking practices during their time there.

Before Trump named him president of the center, Grenell had long been a Trump loyalist, having served in several roles in the first Trump administration, including as action director of national intelligence.

The Kennedy Center is slated to close for about two years after Trump ordered renovations to it to “rival and surpass” other similar performing arts centers, construction that will be funded by $257 million appropriated last year by Congress for the project.