Northwestern University announced Tuesday that it is cutting 425 positions amid a significant budget gap.
The cuts involve an unspecified number of layoffs.
Northwestern President Michael Schill, Provost Kathleen Hagerty, and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Amanda Distel told the university community that mounting financial pressures remain a threat to immediate and long-term financial stability.
The letter said the university has already taken several measures to address the pressures. Northwestern announced in June that it was implementing a hiring freeze and would not pay out merit bonuses, and would also reduce administrative and academic budgets, likely leading to decreases in staff positions.
Also in June, Northwestern announced that it was changing its tuition benefits program and health insurance for its staff and faculty beginning next year.
But this was not enough, and the letter said Northwestern could not bridge its budget gap without cutting personnel costs — which account for 56% of expenditures.
“Today, the University began the painful process of reducing our budget attributable to staff by about 5%, including layoffs,” Northwestern said in a statement. “Of the approximately 425 positions being eliminated across schools and units, nearly half are currently vacant.”
In April, the Trump administration froze $790 million in federal funding at Northwestern. The freeze affected grants from agencies like defense, agriculture, and health and human services.
Northwestern was one of several universities subjected to of what the Department of Education calls “explosions of antisemitism” on college campuses in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. The initial report cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which protects individuals from discrimination based on national origin and applies to schools and institutions of higher learning that receive federal funding.