Stanford University has announced plans to lay off hundreds of employees as a result of sweeping budget reductions driven by federal funding cuts tied to higher education policies under United States President, Donald Trump.
According to documents reviewed by AFP in late July and confirmed Wednesday, the California-based institution is implementing the cuts as part of a broader $140 million reduction to its general funds for the coming academic year.
This move mirrors similar workforce reductions recently seen at other prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Columbia, and Johns Hopkins, all of which have come under scrutiny from the Trump administration.
Trump’s White House had increasingly used federal funding as leverage against universities it deemed excessively liberal, pushing for changes to curriculum design, admissions policies, and other operational aspects.
The administration also significantly slashed or delayed research funding as part of broader budget cutbacks since taking office in January.
In a joint statement, Stanford president Jon Levin and provost Jenny Martinez said, “This is the product of a challenging fiscal environment shaped in large part by federal policy changes affecting higher education.”
They continued, “These are difficult actions that affect valued colleagues and friends who have made important contributions to Stanford.”
Stanford, located near San Francisco and home to around 18,000 staff members, disclosed in a state filing that 363 workers would be affected by the layoffs.
