Sack Lunch: Harvard Layoffs Start This Week

Layoffs have been hanging over the heads of Harvard employees like the sword of Damocles since word of staff reductions started to circulate in February. Today, Harvard President Drew Faust let workers know that the string was about to snap, the sword was about to fall, and heads were about to roll. 275 heads, to be exact.

In a statement sent to employees by email, Faust wrote that layoffs would start this week for most of the university and would continue through next week:

Most of the Schools will carry out the process this week; the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Medical School, the central administration, and several of the allied institutions will follow, beginning on June 29.

In a follow-up email, Marilyn Hausammann, Vice President for Human Resources, described the extent of the layoffs. 275 positions will be eliminated completely, and 40 additional staff members will be forced to work reduced hours. The layoffs accompany other cost-saving measures, including a wage freeze and the voluntary early retirement of 500 staff members.

The layoffs are an attempt to stanch the bleeding that began when Harvard's endowment collapsed, and the announcement comes on the heels of news that Marc Seidner, a major investor at Harvard Management Co. has resigned.