Brown University lays off 48 employees as the institution faces millions in deficits
Facing a $30 million budget deficit, Brown University is laying off 48 employees and will cut 55 unfilled positions, according to a Sept. 22 letter sent by administrators.
"We are committed to ensuring that this transition will be handled with empathy and care, and ensuring that each person is supported and treated respectfully throughout the process," the administrators said. "In addition, we are committed to helping individuals explore opportunities for placement in other open positions at Brown wherever possible."
The university is reducing campus spending by 2.5%. And beyond layoffs or cuts, it is also decreasing travel, reducing spending on equipment, activities, tools and resources, and shifting to restricted funding sources, according to the institution.
To address the $30 million gap, the institution took the approach to "evenly divide budget measures between central University actions to reduce expenses by $15 million and giving academic and administrative units the discretion to decide how and where to reduce spending in their own areas to achieve the remaining $15 million in reductions," the administrators said.
The institution encouraged leaders to eliminate unfilled positions rather than those that have been filled.
The university is offering severance packages and outplacement services to employees.
On top of the $30 million losses expected, the institution is facing a $29 million deficit from the 2026 fiscal budget.
The layoffs come after the university cut a deal with the Trump administration, agreeing to pay $50 million to workforce development organizations in Rhode Island.
The deal, along with other court decisions about research funding and endowment taxes, has reduced the scope of cuts the institution would have to make, making it "far less than the federal impact we feared two months ago," the administrators said.
Outside of the layoffs and cuts, the university announced in August that it would also make up for its $15 million deficit by temporarily pausing its move to net-zero emissions and by monetizing non-strategic real estate holdings — among other decisions.
The institution has had to institute freezes on hiring, travel and discretionary funding, which are no longer in effect. It has also had to take out loans, borrow money and touch its endowment to cover the costs of operating.
Other institutions have also reduced programming or laid off staff this year, including Berklee College of Music , Utica University in New York , Clark University in Worcester , Boston University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute .
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