University Of Southern California Layoffs Now Total More Than 900

More than 900 layoffs have occurred at the University of Southern California since July. The University of Southern California has laid off more than 900 employees since July, according to a message sent to the campus on Monday from USC Interim President Beong-Soo Kim. However, according to Kim, the final number of individuals leaving USC will ultimately be lower because of efforts to place up to 200 of those employees in reorganized positions. In a July 14 letter to faculty and staff, Kim indicated that the university had ended Fiscal Year 2025 with an operating deficit or more than $200 million, substantially higher than the $158 million deficit it ran in FY 2024 against a $7.4 billion total budget. That larger-than expected budget gap came despite several efforts to rein in spending last year, including “school and unit budget reductions, a hiring pause, and other actions involving much hard work and sacrifice." While those strategies slowed the growth of expenses, the institution’s structural deficit still grew substantially, and Kim warned at the time that layoffs would be necessary in the future. Now we know more about the extent of those staff departures. In July, Kim pointed to federal cuts in support for research, hospitals, and student financial aid by the Trump administration, along with the potential loss of international student enrollment, as major contributors to USC’s budget problems. He projected that the annual loss in federally sponsored research funding could be $300 million or more, adding that “we cannot rely on the hope that federal support will revert to historical levels.” On Monday, Kim said that USC had “significantly reduced our operating expenses and are currently on track to eliminate our long-term deficit by the end of this fiscal year,” and that he did not “anticipate any additional layoffs for the remainder of 2025 beyond what may already have been communicated locally.” MORE FOR YOU He said that new research awards, advancement efforts, and endowment returns had all been moving in a favorable direction, before adding that even with that encouraging news, “we cannot afford the luxury of complacency.” He then outlined several steps the university would take to ensure its financial stability. First, USC will monitor its budget more closely and impose “greater discipline on spending decisions.” Second, it will eliminate inefficiencies, streamline processes, and facilitate more collaboration within the instiution, taking advantage of “important opportunities to reconsider how we have done things in the past and better align our work moving forward.” Third, as USC keeps an eye of the potential impacts of the ongoing federal government shutdown and plans for reductions in federal student loans and other contingencies next year, it will prepare for additional disruptions that Kim said will be coming. “During these volatile times, it’s important to be agile, remain open to different perspectives and ideas, and never lose sight of our long-term mission and values.,” he wrote. Kim assured the campus he believed that “USC is up to these challenges – and they are absolutely worth taking on," promising that it was building a stronger financial foundation that will allow it “to further enhance the student experience, make more strategic hires, invest in new and existing programs, and accelerate research and clinical innovation.” Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions