AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Stanford, California-based Stanford University, a prestigious private research university, has announced a mass reduction in its workforce based on rising costs and changes in federal funding policies, including a steep revision to the endowment tax.

The reduction will impact 363 employees across various departments, including administrative services, research, facilities, communications, libraries, marketing, and student services.

Management's memo...

Dear faculty and staff,

As we wrote last month, the university is making a $140 million reduction in the general funds budget for the upcoming year. This is the product of a challenging fiscal environment shaped in large part by federal policy changes affecting higher education.

Over the last few days, many schools and units at Stanford have made staff reductions. The university is providing support resources as well as layoff benefits to eligible employees. Nonetheless, these are difficult actions that affect valued colleagues and friends who have made important contributions to Stanford.

We also know that many of you will need to make adjustments going forward as a result of budget cuts. Thank you for your hard work, for your support of your colleagues, and for all of your efforts to support our vital ongoing mission of research and education.

Sincerely,

Jon Levin, President

Jenny Martinez, Provost

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?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

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?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Chicago, Illinois-based Chicago Public School District, the governing body of the City of Chicago schools, has announced a reduction in force.

The reduction affected 161 employees, including 67 from the Central Office and Network Offices, and the school district left 209 positions vacant. The decision was driven by the need to fill a projected $734 million budget shortfall.

According to the school district, "Together, we’ve been identifying ways to be more efficient and find cost savings across our central offices and administrative functions, always with the goal of better supporting schools and students. In addition to position reductions, the district has also implemented cuts to contractual services and other non-personnel expenses to further limit the impact on school communities. The District remains committed to open communication moving forward and acknowledges the thoughtful and difficult work undertaken by teams across the organization to ensure these decisions have the least possible impact on students."

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?