Johns Hopkins University announced on Thursday that it will be laying off more than 2,000 employees as a direct result of the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to foreign aid funding.
The renowned institution, based in Baltimore, Maryland, stated that the loss of over $800 million in USAID support has forced it to scale back crucial initiatives both locally and abroad.
In total, 1,975 positions will be cut in global projects spanning 44 countries, while 247 jobs will be eliminated in the U.S. The cuts significantly impact several key programs at the university, including its medical school, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Jhpiego—an international non-profit founded at Hopkins more than 50 years ago, focused on improving global health outcomes.
“Today is a difficult day for our community,” the university said in a statement. “We are deeply proud of the vital work our teams have done through Jhpiego, the School of Public Health, and the School of Medicine to tackle public health challenges, save lives, and provide essential resources like clean drinking water to communities worldwide.”
These cuts position Johns Hopkins among the most heavily affected universities by the reduction of federal funding for research. The institution relies on nearly $1 billion annually from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is currently overseeing 600 clinical trials. It is also one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the foreign aid cuts.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is the largest funding body for Jhpiego’s work, plays a central role in global health and humanitarian efforts, supporting emergency programs and health initiatives in approximately 120 countries.
In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing all U.S. foreign aid to reassess overseas spending. Critics argue that these drastic cuts to USAID will have far-reaching consequences, affecting millions of vulnerable people worldwide.
