At Grim Town Hall, Harvard Medical School Leaders Tell Staff to Expect Layoffs and Far-Reaching Cuts

Harvard Medical School leadership told employees at a town hall Wednesday morning that the school was preparing to make staffing reductions and cut programs as a result of the Trump administration’s actions against Harvard — including a $2.2 billion freeze.

“I know this news is sobering. I know that many of you have been expecting this news, and so to actually be clear and transparent about it, it’s difficult for all of us,” said HMS Executive Dean for Administration Lisa M. Muto, according to a recording of the town hall obtained by The Crimson.

HMS Chief Financial Officer Julie Joncas — who noted that 75 percent of HMS’ research is federally funded — pointed to federal research funding cuts, a loss of nonprofit status for the University, an endowment tax increase, tariffs, and legal fees as key risks that put the school in a bind.

Spokespeople for HMS and the University did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status on his social media platform Truth Social. Should Trump make good on his threats, the “billion and a half dollars in new philanthropy every year” the school receives would be “quickly at risk,” Joncas said.

Joncas acknowledged that HMS employees might feel that Harvard’s administration is not supporting them enough. But she said the White House’s far-reaching threats could make it impossible for the University to stanch the impact of funding cuts.

“It’s important to remember each school is feeling this but is feeling it differently, and it’s important for us to realize we’re kind of all under attack right now, and that is why it’s so hard for Harvard at this point,” Joncas said. “Harvard has to figure out the solution and what we can do with what limited resources we’re going to be left with when all the dust settles.”

Joncas said that HMS only had about $39 million in reserves and had already been struggling with financial challenges, historically counting on philanthropic gifts to make up the difference.

“It doesn’t take an accountant to look at this chart and see when you continue to spend more than you take in in revenue. It is an unsustainable equation,” she said. “And what you’re seeing is we’re doing that year over year.”

While strong philanthropy historically supported the school’s initiatives, after fiscal year 2022, Joncas said, “a lot of that changed” when donors fled after Harvard’s handling of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

Donations to Harvard’s endowment dropped by more than $150 million in fiscal year 2024 after several major billionaire donors publicly cut ties with Harvard over its handling of campus antisemitism.

Joncas also cited a challenging macroeconomic environment, referencing pandemic-related inflation, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the Trump administration’s recent tariffs.

“You can see with these numbers, it’s not going to last very long, and it’s not going to get us through FY 26,” Joncas said. “We’re starting what is a very difficult time, and it’s a bit of a crisis right now.”

Muto said the school’s financial situation was unprecedented, even in comparison to HMS’ response to the 2008 financial crisis, and would require more fundamental changes at the school.

“This is different from what happened in 2008 when there was a lot of cost-cutting around the edges in hopes that things would fight themselves,” Muto said.

“This exercise is really more about how can we shrink our enterprise in order to be more sustainable, and so it’s a much bigger ask, and it takes a lot more thinking,” she added.

As a result, “tough decisions” to shrink the school’s programs would be necessary, Muto said.

“We value the whole breadth of what happens here at Harvard Medical School, but we’re going to be in an era now in which we can’t do everything,” she added.

Simone Leary, Chief Human Resources Officer at HMS, called the situation “a very difficult time for everyone” and told employees to “please take care of yourselves” in anticipation of the “permanent” layoffs.

“We’re talking about permanent changes,” Leary said. “Someone would say, ‘Well, you know, could I go part time for six months?’ That’s not really what we’re looking for here. We’re looking for long term sustainable change.”

—Staff writer Avani B. Rai can be reached at avani.rai@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @avaniiiirai.

—Staff writer Saketh Sundar can be reached at saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @saketh_sundar.