Northwestern University eliminates 425 jobs and slashes staff budget by 5% following federal funding cut
Northwestern University has announced the elimination of 425 staff positions and a 5% reduction in its staff budget. The decision was communicated to university staff via an internal email sent on a Tuesday afternoon, signed by University President Michael Schill, Provost Kathleen Hagerty, and Chief Financial Officer Amanda Distel.According to the email, as reported by the Evanston RoundTable, half of the 425 positions were already vacant. The university confirmed that affected employees would be notified within the next 48 hours from the time of the announcement. The cuts were described as a response to significant financial pressures, particularly the loss of federal research funding.Financial measures and federal funding freezeNorthwestern University stated in the email that the reduction comes amid its ongoing efforts to restore frozen federal research funding. “We continue to work every day to get our frozen federal research funding restored, and we are hopeful it will happen soon,” the university wrote, as quoted by the Evanston RoundTable.However, the email also made clear that even if federal funding were to be reinstated, it would not be sufficient to reverse the current staff and budget reductions. The university noted that personnel costs account for 56% of its total annual expenditures.Previous cost-cutting stepsThe email outlined several cost-saving measures the university had already implemented in prior months. These include altering employee benefits, instituting a hiring freeze, reducing non-personnel expenditures by 10%, and foregoing annual salary increases. Despite these efforts, the university maintained that the existing budget shortfall could not be resolved without cutting personnel costs.As reported by the Evanston RoundTable, the university also informed certain school leaders in advance of the announcement. This was done to allow time for localised planning aimed at minimising the impact on staff, students, and university operations.Ongoing financial stressorsIn addition to the federal funding freeze, Northwestern University cited a range of other ongoing financial pressures. According to the internal communication referenced by the Evanston RoundTable, these include rising healthcare costs, ongoing litigation, new labour contracts, employee benefit obligations, and compliance-related costs.The university also mentioned anticipated federal changes that could further affect its financial stability. These include potential constraints on the enrolment of international students, likely reductions in research Facilities and Administration reimbursements, and broader cuts in federal research funding.No departmental breakdown providedThe Evanston RoundTable reported that it reached out to Northwestern University for further clarification regarding which departments or schools the eliminated positions would come from. However, no detailed breakdown was provided by the university at the time of publication.TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here.
