Evanston, Illinois-based Northwestern University, a private research university, has announced a 5% reduction in force in response to serious budgetary issues.
The reduction impacted 225 employees across the entire university, with another 200 positions being left unfilled.
A spokesperson noted, “Like many of our peer institutions, Northwestern faces mounting financial pressures that threaten the University’s immediate and long-term financial stability. Over the past several months, the University has taken several measures to address these pressures."
“Despite these measures, Northwestern still faces a significant budget gap that cannot be bridged without cutting personnel costs, which account for 56% of our total annual expenditures. Today, the University began the painful process of reducing our budget attributable to staff by about 5%, including layoffs. Of the approximately 425 positions being eliminated across schools and units, nearly half are currently vacant.
“This is a difficult day for Northwestern, and we are carrying out today’s actions with care and compassion. We are a tight-knit community that works tirelessly to improve our world. While deeply painful, today’s reduction in workforce will help ensure our University can continue to serve its mission to be one of the world’s great institutions of teaching and research for generations to come.”
“These include rapidly rising healthcare expenses, litigation, labor contracts, employee benefits, compliance requirements, and a suite of federal changes. Such as potential constraints on our ability to enroll international students, as well as likely reductions in research Facilities and Administration reimbursements and in overall federal research funding. Even when federal research funding is restored—no matter what that may look like—it will not be enough to reverse the actions we are taking now.”
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, nor promises of a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something terrible hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, at any time, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?