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The Broad Institute — a biomedical research center affiliated with Harvard and MIT — laid off 75 employees and slashed non-personnel expenses late last month in an effort to shore up its finances as the Trump administration continues to threaten federal funding for scientific research.
The cost-cutting effort, announced in a June 29 email to Broad members, saved approximately $42 million in expenses — about 5 percent of the Broad’s annual budget. Those still at the institute face additional reductions, including pauses to supplemental retirement contributions and limits to wage increases.
“I am deeply grateful for all that these individuals have done for Broad and our scientific mission,” Todd R. Golub, the director of the Broad Institute, wrote in the Thursday email. “Changes like this are never easy, especially when they affect our colleagues and friends.”
In the email, Golub described the cuts as “tough choices” made in the face of “substantially reduced” funding from the federal government. The Trump administration has cut off Harvard’s federal research funding, and the president’s proposed budget would enact major cuts to federal agencies that support biomedical research — including the National Institutes of Health, which gave the Broad $157 million last year.
The workers laid off last week include 53 administrators, as well as 22 additional employees at two scientific platforms: the Data Sciences Platform and Center for the Development of Therapeutics. The layoffs represent 4 percent of the Broad’s workforce, according to Broad spokesperson David Cameron.
Recently laid-off employees have been connected with professional outplacement services to find them new positions, according to Cameron, who wrote that limits on wage increases were targeted toward employees in higher salary tiers.
In the Thursday email, Golub wrote that he does not expect the Broad will need to lay off more employees unless the conditions for federal funding “become considerably worse” than the institute anticipates.
The spending cuts included reductions on food expenses and subsidies for employee parking. The institute also ended or reduced funding for programming including affinity groups, professional development events, and an annual scientific retreat, according to an internal Broad document obtained by The Crimson.
The Broad also ended its institute-wide subscriptions to the New York Times and the Boston Globe, citing low employee usage. It also allowed subsidies for “priority access” to child care to expire.
The Broad will continue matching 6 percent of the contributions affiliates make to their 401(k) retirement accounts. But it will no longer contribute the additional 2 to 3 percent that it historically provided each winter.
Golub stressed that though the layoffs and cost cutting were “difficult” changes to make, the Broad will continue aspiring to lead the field in biomedical research.
“Broad will not lower its sights because of changes in federal funding. To the contrary, we will double down on our commitment to transformative science that benefits patients,” he wrote. “Today’s actions, while difficult, make this possible.”
—Staff writer William C. Mao can be reached at william.mao@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @williamcmao.
—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart.
