Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has laid off 24 employees due to pressures from rising costs and uncertainty regarding the Trump administration's policies on higher education.
The cuts were made to maintain WPI's financial stability, according to a letter shared with students and staff on May 21.
Some of the rising costs are tied to healthcare and prescription benefits, the letter reads.
The university had already implemented cost-cutting measures in the spring, including pausing or eliminating some open positions, reducing non-essential spending, and restructuring debt, according to the letter.
"Unfortunately, further expense reductions were necessary at a scale that could only be achieved through carefully considered restructuring. This resulted in the elimination of 24 occupied positions," the letter reads. "Those changes have now been communicated to affected staff. WPI is offering severance and other forms of assistance to departing employees, who leave with our respect and appreciation."
A spokesperson for WPI said the university would not comment on which positions were cut.
The letter was signed by Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mike Horan, Provost and Senior Vice President Andrew Sears and Senior Vice President of Talent and Inclusion Lauren Turner.
The university analyzed the financial impacts that new and changed federal policies might have on WPI, the letter reads.
The Trump administration has taken several actions targeting colleges and universities, including revoking the immigration statuses of some international students. Two students from WPI, whose statuses were revoked, are part of a lawsuit along with three other students from Rivier University in New Hampshire.
Recently, the Trump administration has targeted Harvard University, directing federal agencies to stop doing business with the Ivy League school and cutting grants worth millions of dollars. During a conversation with reporters on Wednesday, President Donald Trump suggested a 15% cap on international students at the university.
"We have people want to go to Harvard and other schools, they can't get in because we have foreign students there. But I want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country," he said.
In their letter, WPI wrote that the impacts from the federal government would be "significant" but did not disclose in detail what the impacts would be.
"People will always be WPI's most important asset, and difficult decisions like these are never reached lightly," the letter reads. However, these changes will preserve WPI's core strengths and position us on a firmer financial footing, allowing us the ability to invest in strategic growth."
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