WASHINGTON: The Johns Hopkins University has announced to slash over 2,000 jobs in the US and abroad after the Trump administration cut $800 million in grants to the academic institution.
This marked the largest layoff in the university’s history, affecting 247 domestic US workers and an additional 1,975 positions across 44 countries.
The job cuts impacted the university’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, its medical school, and the affiliated non-profit organisation for international health, Jhpiego.
“This is a difficult day for our entire community. 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 university said in a statement shared with media.
Since assuming office on January 20, Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk have worked to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Following a six-week review, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday that the Trump administration had cancelled more than 80 percent of all USAID programmes.
In addition to targeting the US foreign aid agency, the Trump administration is also investigating 60 American universities, including Johns Hopkins, over pro-Palestinian protests on campuses. The Trump administration alleges protesters are anti-Semitic.
Demonstrators deny the accusations saying the US government is conflating their criticism of US ally Israel’s military assault on Gaza that has killed at least 48, 515 Palestinians.
Last week, the US cancelled $400 million in grants and contracts with New York’s Columbia University. The Trump administration is also working to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student who has been a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia.
