“Difficult Day”: Johns Hopkins announces 2,000 layoffs after Trump Administration cuts USAID funding

Maryland – Johns Hopkins University will lay off more than 2,000 employees after losing $800 million in federal funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the university announced Thursday. The cuts come as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to shrink the federal government, particularly its foreign aid programs.

The majority of the layoffs will affect international staff, with 1,975 employees across 44 countries losing their jobs. An additional 247 positions will be eliminated in the U.S., while roughly 100 employees will be furloughed or placed on reduced schedules, according to a university statement.

“This is a difficult day for our entire community,” Johns Hopkins said in a statement. “The termination of more than $800 million in USAID funding is now forcing us to wind down critical work here in Baltimore and internationally.”

The job cuts mark the largest in the university’s history, impacting multiple divisions, including the schools of medicine and public health, the Center for Communication Programs, and Jhpiego, a nonprofit affiliated with the university that focuses on maternal health and disease prevention.

Johns Hopkins emphasized that its employees had been at the forefront of global health initiatives, helping to “care for mothers and infants, fight disease, provide clean drinking water, and advance countless other critical, life-saving efforts around the world.”

Affected employees will receive at least a 60-day notice before their layoffs take effect, the university said.

The layoffs come as part of a broader shift in federal policy under President Donald Trump, whose administration has aggressively scaled back funding for USAID. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced earlier this week that 83% of the agency’s programs would be canceled, with the remaining initiatives being folded into the State Department.

Johns Hopkins has been a major recipient of USAID funding and relies on federal contracts and grants for approximately 50% of its budget. In a message to the university community last week, Johns Hopkins President Ronald Daniels warned that the loss of funding would have “significant impacts on budgets, personnel, and programs.”

“Given what we are seeing, it is necessary to plan for challenges ahead,” Daniels wrote. “We have little choice but to reduce some of our work in response to the slowing and stopping of grants and to adjust to an evolving legal landscape.”

Johns Hopkins’ funding loss is part of a growing concern among research institutions about the stability of federal financial support. Last week, the Trump administration canceled $400 million in grants and contracts for Columbia University, citing the school’s handling of antisemitism on campus.

In another blow to the research community, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently moved to limit the maximum payments universities can request for infrastructure costs, such as facilities and maintenance. Scientists warn that this move could severely impact the U.S.’s ability to maintain its position as a global leader in research.

In response, Johns Hopkins and several other universities have filed a lawsuit to block the NIH cuts, arguing that the reductions threaten critical scientific progress.

With federal funding for higher education and research facing increasing uncertainty, institutions across the country are bracing for further financial strain and potential job losses.