USA Johns Hopkins University has to lay off more than 2000 employees
The internationally recognized Johns Hopkins University in the USA is to lay off more than 2000 employees worldwide. The reason for the redundancies is the cutbacks at the development aid agency USAID.
14.03.2025, 01:28
14.03.2025, 06:59
SDA
"This is a difficult day for our entire community. The loss of more than 800 million dollars in funding from USAID is forcing us to end important work here in Baltimore and internationally," the research institute just outside the US capital announced on Thursday.
According to the information, 1975 jobs in 44 countries will have to be cut, with 247 jobs affected in the United States. The university is based in Baltimore in the US state of Maryland, about an hour's drive north of the capital Washington.
Government austerity measures
US President Trump and his advisor Elon Musk want to drastically cut the budgets and staff of US federal agencies - USAID is a particular focus of their austerity measures. Among other things, the agency funds research projects on AIDS and other infectious diseases around the world. Immediately after his inauguration, Trump issued a decree largely freezing US foreign aid for 90 days. The government later approved some exceptions for humanitarian aid.
Johns Hopkins University is one of the institutions hardest hit by the austerity measures. At the beginning of March, its president Ronald Daniels explained in a message to students and professors that almost half of the money the university received last year came from federal funds.
Referring to the "historic relationship" between "the most important research university" in the USA and the government, he warned that the cuts would affect students, researchers and teaching staff.
Medical research affected
The job cuts will affect several Johns Hopkins facilities that conduct research into "maternal and infant health", the "fight against disease" and drinking water supplies, the university explained.
Johns Hopkins is one of the world's most recognized institutions in the field of medical research and public health. Other US universities, such as the renowned Harvard University near Boston in the north-east of the USA, have announced a hiring freeze due to the announced budget cuts.
