Brown University to cut 103 positions amid budget deficit after Trump admin deal

Brown University announced Monday that it will lay off 48 employees as part of a broader effort to reduce costs by $15 million. The school is also eliminating 55 unfilled positions, ending a university-wide hiring freeze, and cutting operating expenses more aggressively. This comes after the school cut a deal with the Trump administration earlier in July that would see the school payout $50 million to state workforce development programs and other public investment.

“The implementation of these measures will take place across a range of academic and administrative departments and offices on campus,” a university spokesperson told The Brown Daily Herald. The outlet previously reported that Brown planned to cut five administrative positions across 16 of the school’s smallest departments. Employees affected by the layoffs will receive severance packages and outplacement services.

The financial changes come as Brown faces a $30 million budget deficit for the 2026 fiscal year, as well as continued pressure of federal funding cuts under the Trump administration after cutting a deal to pay $50 million out to workforce development programs and other stipulations.

“One of the most significant decisions in developing the strategy to close this additional $30 million budget gap was 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 university said in its announcement.

Alex Shieh is a former Brown student who gained attention for sending a DOGE-like email to non-faculty employees that asked them to explain what they do for work. In a statement to Fox News, he explained that the layoffs were proof that these administrative positions were unnecessary.

"In recent years, Ivy League colleges have morphed into a bloated ‘educational industrial complex’ run by self-dealing administrators who charge families record tuition and divert the money to layers of staff that add little to the classroom," Shieh told the outlet. "The result has been an Ivy League that masquerades as a meritocracy while in reality predominately serving the richest Americans who can afford the $93,064 costs and fees."