The Victoria and Albert Museum is preparing to launch a voluntary exit scheme open to staff across the institution, a move that follows a wave of industrial action over pay and working conditions at its sites last month. Members of the unions PCS and Prospect staged strikes at the museum's South Kensington headquarters on 25 and 26 September, after earlier walkouts on 4 and 5 September at three other V&A venues: the East Storehouse, the East Museum and Young V&A. The earlier stoppages were driven by grievances over remuneration and working conditions, particularly at the East Storehouse in Stratford, which opened last spring. According to a report in Arts Professional cited by the unions, the V&A is projecting cumulative operational deficits of 19 million pounds by 2030, a figure the museum has not confirmed. A spokesperson attributed the financial pressure to rising operating costs, inflation, economic uncertainty and weaker visitor spending, adding that below-inflation government settlements amount to a real-terms funding cut in the coming years. The museum received 59.9 million pounds in grant-in-aid for 2025-26, an increase of 3.7 million pounds on the prior year, plus a 5.2 million pound infrastructure award. The voluntary exit scheme sits within the museum's 2026-30 organisational strategy, which calls for streamlined operations through staffing, processes, technology and artificial intelligence. The pay dispute itself remains unresolved: management says its latest offer averages a 4.18 percent rise, 6.9 percent for the lowest paid, while the PCS union counters that most staff were offered only 3.25 percent. No further strike dates have been announced.