This list includes budget cuts and layoffs the Daily Trojan was able to confirm by its publication deadline. Layoffs at the University are ongoing. Tips about layoffs can be sent to [email protected].

With layoffs and property sales, USC continues to see the effects of budget cuts as University administration moves to address a more than $200 million operating deficit.

Newly installed interim President Beong-Soo Kim publicly revealed the operating deficit from fiscal year 2025 in an email to faculty and staff on July 14. He announced that the University would implement layoffs, sell unused properties and adjust compensation for the most highly paid employees.

The measures came in addition to those announced in March, including a staff hiring freeze and reductions in other areas.

USC moves to sell Peace Garden

In May, prior to Kim’s announcement of the fiscal year 2025 operating deficit, the University began moving to sell the land beneath the USC Peace Garden, an off-campus green space for USC and the surrounding community staffed by professors and interns. The garden closed at the end of June.

University administrators wrote in a letter to interns on June 6 that the University was committed to relocating the garden in a thoughtful manner.

The University wrote in a statement to the Daily Trojan that it is evaluating several sites and will be getting input from the USC community via a survey. It wrote that it plans to select a location by the end of September.

USC laid off staff prior to announcement

On July 8, USC eliminated all roles in the Office of Cybersecurity as part of what it called a “departmental restructuring.”

State data obtained by the Daily Trojan shows that USC laid off 55 employees on July 8. The vast majority were in cybersecurity roles. In its letter to the state about the layoffs, the University wrote that the reorganization was “due to cutbacks in funding and necessary budget reductions.”

Impacted employees of the Office of Cybersecurity will be able to apply for positions in the restructured office, which launches on Sept. 30, according to a July 9 University statement to the Daily Trojan. It did not confirm how many positions would be available in the new organization.

USC Athletics eliminated 12 jobs, which included laying off six current employees, the department confirmed to the Daily Trojan on July 8. The department declined to state which positions were eliminated and no Athletics positions appear in the state data. The decision was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

USC health system sees at least 89 layoffs

Eighty-nine employees were laid off Aug. 4 across USC’s health system, according to a notice filed with the state and city. The number of layoffs was first reported by Morning, Trojan. 

The layoffs included employees from Keck Medicine of USC, USC Care Medical Group, Inc., Keck Medical Center of USC, Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital. Positions cut include 24 manager positions, seven supervisor technicians, seven sleep study technicians and more across the USC health system. 

The notice did not include layoffs for the Keck School of Medicine of USC. An Aug. 5 email from Keck Medicine of USC and Keck school officials said the school would complete most layoffs by Aug. 8.

“[The University] is reducing and reorganizing its workforce due to cutbacks in funding and necessary budget reductions,” the notice read. “Consequently, the [University] has had to make the difficult decision to regretfully layoff and/or reduce hours for certain employees at the Employer’s Health Sciences Campus.” 

The University wrote in the notice that it anticipates more layoffs and hour reductions but did not clarify any dates or numbers to the Workforce Development Department. 

Layoffs announced at Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

On Aug. 11, the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism laid off 13 employees to meet budget cuts mandated by the University, according to reports by Annenberg Media.

In response to questions from the Daily Trojan, the school shared a letter from Dean Willow Bay to staff confirming layoffs occurred in response to budget cuts. Bay did not confirm the number of layoffs in her letter.

“Given the magnitude of the required cuts, we were not able to reduce our cost structure without a reduction in our workforce,” Bay wrote.

Nicholas Corral, Asiana Guang, Fabián Gutiérrez, Zachary Whalen and Adam Young contributed to this report.