Hit with mass layoffs

Stanford University, hit with mass layoffs, points to Trump's funding cuts

By Madilynne Medina

Stanford University is laying off more than 300 workers, according to a California Employment Development Department filing documents. In a Thursday update on the university’s financial issues, Stanford said the layoffs were in response to new Trump administration rules affecting Stanford's budget.

According to an Employment Development Department filing from the university, the layoffs cover 363 jobs, including project managers, researchers, scientists, lecturers, student services officers, software developers and writers. The layoffs were announced on July 28 and are effective starting Oct. 1, the filing shows. 

The terminated employees will receive three months of continued health insurance and “career transition services,” but the university did not provide specific details of their severance packages, a letter to the EDD shows. 

In the letter, Stanford University cited “ongoing economic uncertainty,” looming federal cuts and rising operational costs as the reasons for the staffing cuts. The university has also made a $140 million budget cut in its general fund for the 2025-26 school year, as SFGATE previously reported.

“There is significant uncertainty about how federal support for universities will evolve, but it is clear that the status quo has changed,” Jon Levin, the university’s president, and Jenny Martinez, the university provost, said in a June statement addressing the budget. Levin and Martinez added the university is also continuing its hiring freeze.

The university’s endowment tax was bumped up from 1.4% to 8% after President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law. In an email to the Stanford Daily, Luisa Rapport, a university spokesperson, said an increase in the tax is expected to reduce funds for financial aid, prospective students, faculty, graduate students and research programs. Stanford has also been a target of anti-diversity, equity and inclusion investigations from the Trump administration, along with UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Irvine.