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Northwestern University is eliminating 425 jobs—about half of which are currently vacant—as it navigates a funding freeze imposed by the Trump administration, The Chicago Tribune reported.
The federal government froze $790 million in research funding for Northwestern this spring, around the same time Trump officials launched investigations into alleged antisemitism on campus following pro-Palestinian student protests in spring 2024.
Northwestern, which is among the nation’s wealthiest universities, with an endowment recently valued at $14.2 billion, has vowed to support ongoing research projects amid the freeze.
Despite Northwestern’s deep pockets, the freeze has had a significant impact, with university officials telling news outlets that recent months have been “among the most difficult” in the institution’s 174-year history. Eliminating the 425 jobs—a process that began Tuesday—is part of an effort to cut 5 percent of the staff budget. Northwestern previously enacted a hiring freeze, among other cost-cutting measures.
“Laying off staff is a drastic step that causes pain and anxiety both for the individuals whose lives are affected, but also for our entire community, and we do not take it lightly,” Northwestern president Michael Schill wrote in a Tuesday email to campus obtained by The Chicago Tribune.
Northwestern’s announcement of the cuts comes the same week that Duke University, another well-resourced research institution, announced 599 employees had accepted buyouts. Duke officials have indicated more buyouts are possible and layoffs are likely to begin in August, as the university contends with a federal funding freeze and accusations of racial discrimination from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Education.
