University of Chicago to cut spending by $100M, reduce staff by 400

University of Chicago to layoff 400 workers to save $100M

The University of Chicago is in a budget hole and needs to cut back to save about $100 million.

CHICAGO - The University of Chicago leaders announced last week that they aim to reduce spending by about $100 million a year, resulting in the reduction of its staff by about 400 workers, in the wake of the loss of federal funding.

What we know:

University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos wrote in an announcement that the staff reductions are aimed at putting the institution on a more stable financial footing.

Despite managing ongoing budget challenges in recent years, he wrote, the "federal policy changes" are creating "new financial liabilities."

 "The sheer number and scale of such potential losses–even if only one or two were to materialize fully–and the ongoing uncertainty mark a substantial change," Alivisatos wrote. "There is no way to navigate this new environment without taking a close examination of our academic operations and continuing our work to have an administrative structure that is effective and efficient."

The university also announced it will reduce the number of its administrative positions, scaled down planned infrastructure improvements, and reduce the number of doctoral students it will accept in certain programs, among other measures.

"These plans require difficult choices and will result in the University stopping some good and worthy endeavors, while growing others that are most fundamental to our core mission," said Alivisatos.

The University of Chicago is just the latest major educational institution to announce such job and spending cuts. Northwestern University made a similar announcement earlier this summer citing the most difficult financial situation in its 174-year history.