Columbia University announced on Tuesday that it will be laying off nearly 180 employees due to President Donald Trump's decision to cut $400 million in funding. This decision was made after the university's handling of student protests related to the Gaza war.

Around 20% of the staff affected by the funding cuts, who were supported by federal grants, received non-renewal or termination notices. "We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources," the university said. Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people. We understand this news will be hard. Columbia University spokesperson Jessica Murphy did not confirm if more layoffs are expected but mentioned that the university is taking various steps to improve financial flexibility. These steps include keeping current salary levels and offering voluntary retirement incentives. Research at the university will be reduced, with some departments ending projects and others continuing research with alternative funding.

Some of the impacted research includes a project to develop an antiviral nasal spray for infectious diseases, as well as studies on maternal mortality, long Covid treatments, newborn care for opioid withdrawal, and colorectal cancer screenings. The recent layoffs, though anticipated, have been disheartening for the faculty, according to Marcel Agueros, the secretary of Columbia University's chapter of the American Association of University Professors. This group has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming the cuts are unlawful. University officials are trying to work with the Trump administration to get the funding back. However, Agueros, who is an astronomy professor, believes it will take years to recover from the damage already done. When funding is interrupted, it leads to people losing their jobs, prevents new hires, puts some projects on hold, and even causes others to be cancelled, which slows down research progress, he explained. The funding was pulled by the Trump administration in March due to the university's alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus during the Israel-Hamas conflict that started in October 2023.

Columbia University agreed to a series of demands set by the Republican administration in order to start the process of restoring its funding. Some of these demands included changes to the university's student discipline system, banning protesters from wearing masks, stopping protests in academic buildings, adopting a new definition of antisemitism, and placing the Middle Eastern studies program under the supervision of a vice provost who would have input on curriculum and hiring decisions. After Columbia announced these changes, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated that the university was moving in the right direction but did not say when or if the funding would be restored. The federal education department did not immediately respond to inquiries. 

Last spring, Columbia University was at the centre of campus protests against the war. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up a camp and even took over a campus building in April. This led to numerous arrests and sparked similar protests across the country. When Trump returned to the White House in January, he quickly acted to cut federal funding to colleges and universities that he believed were too accepting of antisemitism.