Johns Hopkins University in the United States announced on Thursday that it will lay off more than 2,000 employees worldwide, citing a major reduction in foreign aid funding by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The university stated that the termination of over $800 million in USAID funding is forcing it to wind down vital projects.
“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,” the university said in its statement.
Based in Baltimore, Maryland, approximately an hour’s drive from Washington, D.C., Johns Hopkins is cutting at least 1,975 positions across 44 countries, in addition to 247 jobs within the United States.
The sweeping layoffs come as President Trump and his senior advisor, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, push for significant cuts to federal spending, with USAID’s foreign aid, research, and development programs among the primary targets.
Johns Hopkins, which has been particularly impacted by these funding reductions, has long relied on federal support.
University President, Ronald Daniels previously noted that nearly half of the institution’s funding last year came from federal sources.
In March, he warned students and faculty that the cuts would have far-reaching effects, particularly on health, hygiene, and medical programs worldwide.
Highlighting the university’s longstanding collaboration with the U.S. government, Daniels referred to Johns Hopkins as “the first American research university” and stressed the potential harm to critical global initiatives.
The cuts have severely affected multiple divisions of the institution, including its medical school, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Jhpiego, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving healthcare globally.
Jhpiego, which has operated for over five decades, has played a key role in enhancing medical access and services in various countries.
“Johns Hopkins is immensely proud of the work done by our colleagues in Jhpiego, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the School of Medicine to care for mothers and infants, fight disease, provide clean drinking water, and advance countless other critical, life-saving efforts around the world,” the university stated.
Receiving about $1 billion annually from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Johns Hopkins is currently involved in 600 clinical trials.
The New York Times reported that the university is among the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging these funding cuts.
USAID, which is the primary funder of Jhpiego, supports humanitarian efforts in roughly 120 countries, providing essential aid for health and emergency relief. However, the Trump administration has taken steps to overhaul the agency.
In January, the president issued an executive order freezing all U.S. foreign aid to allow for a reassessment of expenditures.
Critics argue that these drastic reductions will put millions of lives at risk, as USAID plays a crucial role in delivering humanitarian assistance worldwide.
