Caught In Trump's Crosshairs, Stanford University Lays Off Over 360 Employees

Last Updated:August 06, 2025, 11:03 IST

University officials directly attributed the financial strain to Trump-era policy shifts—including targeted cutbacks to federal research grants and an increase in the endowment tax

These cuts represent nearly 2 per cent of Stanford’s administrative and technical workforce of roughly 13,000 people. (AFP)

Stanford University on Tuesday said it has laid off over 360 employees, blaming budget constraints that it attributed to the federal funding policies of US President Donald Trump. The staff reductions are part of wider budget cuts amounting to $140 million for the 2025–26 academic year.

According to a Reuters report, university officials directly attributed the financial strain to Trump-era policy shifts—including targeted cutbacks to federal research grants and an increase in the endowment tax under the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill".

University leadership—including President Jonathan Levin and Provost Jenny Martinez—had warned earlier that new federal legislation raising the endowment tax from 1.4 per cent to as much as 8–21 per cent, combined with significant reductions in NIH and NSF research funding, posed existential risks to Stanford’s operating budget and mission-critical programmes.

The Guardian reported that Stanford’s endowment, valued at approximately $37.6 billion, has long been a key funding source for student financial aid, faculty salaries, and research. But the proposed tax hike, if fully enacted, could reduce annual income by an estimated $750 million—a blow the university said would force substantial internal restructuring.

As filed with California’s Employment Development Department, the layoffs, as per CBS News, affect 363 existing employees across more than 200 departments and job categories, including research, communications, IT, facilities, libraries, and student services. These cuts represent nearly 2 per cent of Stanford’s administrative and technical workforce of roughly 13,000 people.

Affected staff will receive severance packages, three months of health insurance continuation, and career transition assistance, university officials said.

Stanford had communicated in June that it would implement a $140 million reduction in its general funds ahead of the upcoming academic year to manage the fiscal fallout. The hiring freeze announced earlier this year remains in place, though limited exceptions will be made for critical roles. Faculty hiring is expected to continue, albeit cautiously.

The Trump administration has also frozen more than $330 million in funding for the University of California, Los Angeles, after alleging the university failed to prevent a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students since campus protests erupted after the start of Israel’s war in Gaza.

The administration of Columbia and Brown universities negotiated a settlement with the Trump administration and made changes to university policies in exchange of which funding was restored but with financial penalties.

Critics, including civil liberties advocates, warn that the federal actions risk undermining academic freedom, suppressing free expression, and conflating legitimate campus activism—particularly protest around Palestine—with antisemitism.

Apoorva Misra

Apoorva Misra is News Editor at News18.com with over nine years of experience. She is a graduate from Delhi University's Lady Shri Ram College and holds a PG Diploma from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. S...Read More

Apoorva Misra is News Editor at News18.com with over nine years of experience. She is a graduate from Delhi University's Lady Shri Ram College and holds a PG Diploma from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. S...

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First Published:

August 06, 2025, 11:03 IST

News world Caught In Trump's Crosshairs, Stanford University Lays Off Over 360 Employees

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