Universities cut over 9,000 jobs in 2025 as Trump targets federal funding: report

A new report from Inside Higher Education says the university system is bleeding jobs. 

The report, published Tuesday, found that the higher education sector lost 300 jobs in December, and a total of over 9,000 ​​positions were cut through layoffs and buyouts in 2025, which the report stated is “undoubtedly an undercount due to unreported personnel actions.”

The report cites President Donald Trump’s restriction of federal research funds, the priority of limiting enrollment of foreign students, and clashes with universities over infractions of alleged civil rights violations, as well as increasing operational costs and “an uncertain federal policy environment” as the culprits.  

“While many of December’s job cuts were not attributable to Trump, others seemed directly connected, including the loss of hundreds of international students at DePaul University, which undercut tuition revenues, prompting layoffs,” the report reads.

Trump has tried to block billions in federal funding from Harvard, citing allegations of antisemitism, and in December, lawyers for the Trump administration said they would appeal a judge’s order to restore $2.7 billion in frozen federal research funding to the institution. 

According to the report, Chicago-based DePaul University slashed 114 staff jobs last month and has reportedly lost hundreds of international students.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has a plan to cut 51 jobs. Western Wyoming Community College did away with 33 jobs and reorganized 30 others, and almost three dozen faculty members at the University of Kansas chose to take buyouts offered by the school. 

Additionally, Tennessee’s Christian Brothers University cut 16 faculty jobs, the Oklahoma Board of Regents for Higher Education at the University of Oklahoma voted to eliminate 41 degree programs and suspend 21 others, and the College of Idaho cut three majors and added six new programs, a move that will lay off 10 employees, including five professors.

Meanwhile, Boston University, currently dealing with a $30 million budget deficit, laid off 120 workers and is closing 120 vacant positions, while San Francisco State University expects between 60 and 75 faculty to accept a buyout they are offering, the report states. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Bobby King, director of communications at the office of the president at San Francisco State University, said, “Demographic trends and changes in student demand for academic programs require that higher education institutions across the country shift resources to best serve students. Difficult, but important, choices are being made about realigning faculty and staff to serve students in growing majors while reducing investment in areas where student demand has declined.” 

Nicole Neily, founder and president of Defending Education, told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Higher education has been notoriously bloated for decades – so wailing and gnashing of teeth over personnel cuts in the field is more than a little overblown. Fewer students are interested in attending college now for a number of reasons (including but not limited to high costs and the questionable quality of education provided) – not to mention the fact that the ‘birth dearth’ is here.”

Neily added that “In the years to come, many colleges and universities will need to consolidate or close, and this is an opportunity for leaders to determine what kind of institution they want to be – and whether there’s any market demand for what they purport to offer.”

White House spokesperson Liz Huston told Fox News Digital, “The Administration is proudly following through on President Trump’s promise to stop taxpayers from being forced to fund wasteful spending in American higher education.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to DePaul University, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Martin University, Western Wyoming Community College, University of Kansas, Christian Brothers University, University of Oklahoma, the College of Idaho, and Boston University for comment.