Tech’s golden child is feeling the squeeze, and workers are about to pay the price. Stanford University just announced a massive layoff of 363 employees, courtesy of some seriously spicy federal policy changes that are making higher education sweat.

The Budget Bomb

In a move that’s sending shockwaves through the academic world, Stanford’s leadership dropped a financial bombshell. President Jonathan Levin and Provost Jenny Martinez are slashing $140 million from their budget for the 2025-26 academic year, and yeah, it’s gonna hurt.

Federal Funding Frenzy

What’s behind this workforce massacre? A perfect storm of federal funding cuts and a brand new tax on university endowments. President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” just imposed an 8% tax on net investment income for universities with endowments over $2 million per student. Translation: Stanford’s getting financially body-slammed.

Local Impact

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors president David Canepa didn’t mince words, calling the cuts a “devastating piece of federal legislation that prioritizes politics over people”. For a community already wrestling with economic uncertainty, these layoffs are another gut punch to local workers.

Stanford promises support resources and layoff benefits, but let’s be real - that doesn’t pay the rent. As Levin and Martinez diplomatically put it, these are “difficult actions” affecting “valued colleagues and friends”. Cold comfort for 363 soon-to-be-unemployed workers.