KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Declining revenue and funding has led Western Michigan University officials to announce that more layoffs will take place in the months ahead.
WMU President Edward Montgomery announced during a virtual town hall event on Monday that the school will be reducing staff as it expects the upcoming fall semester to look different due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The town hall event was planned for university employees, where officials answered questions on how WMU plans to change operations in response to the virus.
The school has lost 20% of its budget as the economic effects of the virus are felt on campus. The largest portion of the budget goes toward paying employee salaries with 65% allocated towards pay.
Last week the university announced that 240 employees would be laid off due to anticipated budget shortfalls. WMU officials said the school has already lost $45 million during the current fiscal year and could potentially lose between $45 million and $85 million during the 2020-21 school year.
The financial challenges have prompted WMU to make further cuts to their staff, this time with reductions across various departments.
“What we’ve already done, while substantial, will not be enough to meet our challenges. As we work to determine the precise numbers or who will be affected, we anticipate that we will layoff a substantial number of our fellow employees,” said Montgomery.
The university president said that while the decision to eliminate staff was difficult, making the cuts earlier rather than later was necessary to plan for the fall semester.
During the town hall Montgomery said that he is requesting each university department to submit plans for reductions, with the layoffs being planned in a series of stages over time.
At a virtual budget meeting last week WMU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jennifer Bott said that a series of staffing cuts would likely be necessary to address the shrinking budget.
On Monday WMU Athletic Director Kathy Beauregard announced a 20% budget reduction at her department as part of the university’s funding cuts.
A total of $6 million will be cut from the $31 million athletic budget, which could potentially impact staffing and related sports activities.
Beauregard said during the virtual town hall that budget reduction will not result in the school eliminating any of its 16 varsity sports programs, but activities will be altered because of limited resources.
WMU has already implemented a hiring freeze through the end of the spring semester, and has also banned travel, halted construction projects, and limited discretionary spending for departments.
In March the university announced that it would be closing down its campus and moving classes online in response to the spread of COVID-19, with remote learning extended into the first summer academic term. The school has not yet announced whether it will expand online-only classes into the fall semester.
