California: Stanford University has announced the layoff of 363 employees as part of sweeping budget cuts it says are a direct result of federal policy changes under the present administration. The university cited "a challenging fiscal environment" driven by recent decisions from the White House targeting funding to institutions over campus protests and social inclusion programs.
The announcement comes amid growing tensions between US universities and the federal government, which has threatened to withhold funds from schools that it accuses of fostering antisemitism, promoting transgender rights, supporting diversity initiatives, and allowing pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
UCLA loses $584 million in federal grants
The Trump administration has frozen $584 million in federal funding for the University of California, Los Angeles, after accusing the school of mishandling pro-Palestinian protests on its campus.
"Currently, a total of approximately $584 million in extramural award funding is suspended and at risk," UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said in an update on the university website.
The Los Angeles Times reported that UCLA leaders were preparing to negotiate with the government over the freeze. Last week, the university agreed to pay over $6 million to settle a lawsuit by some students and a professor who alleged antisemitism. It was also sued earlier this year over a 2024 attack on pro-Palestinian protesters at the height of the US campus protest movement.
