The University of Texas at Arlington has notified 49 employees since June 1, 2025, that they are being laid off, according to public records obtained by the Fort Worth Report.<\/p>\n
The layoffs come from 14 departments and offices, with the highest numbers being laid off from the Office of Information Technology, Office of the Provost and Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center.<\/p>\n
On April 8, the Report requested a list denoting how many employees from each of the university\u2019s departments and offices were notified from June 1 to present that their positions were being eliminated. The university returned the Report\u2019s request on April 22.<\/p>\n
The number of employees laid off is small compared to the university\u2019s overall workforce. In fall 2023 and fall 2024, the most recent years for which data is available, the school employed 1,831 faculty members and 3,117 nonstudent staff, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of its long-term sustainability planning, the university is taking steps to ensure resources are aligned with strategic priorities,\u201d a university spokesperson said in a statement. \u201cThis includes evaluating operations, programs and investments to strengthen financial resilience while continuing to support teaching, research and student success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Financial strain<\/p>\n
UTA has faced financial strain because of federal funding cuts and a decrease in the number of international students. The university saw 30% fewer international graduate students<\/a> enroll this school year compared to the last.<\/p>\n UTA President Jennifer Cowley told attendees at the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce\u2019s State of Higher Education event<\/a> last week that a statewide tuition freeze also contributed to revenue decline.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery dollar represents a choice \u2014 where we invest, who we serve, and how we deliver on our mission \u2014 so we\u2019re staying focused and adapting,\u201d Cowley said in her address. \u201cWe\u2019re making some disciplined choices \u2014 tightening our budget, evaluating our programs and ensuring that every decision supports student success and long-term impact.\u201d<\/p>\n She also said Cowley told the Report in an interview after the event that the university plans to make changes all at once, rather than continuously, and then move forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n The goal is to avoid mass layoffs, she said. Cowley also highlighted steps the university has taken to save money, including offering employees buyouts<\/a> and implementing a hiring freeze<\/a>. She said the university has been \u201cahead of the curve\u201d when it comes to financial planning.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re being very careful in all of our budgetary planning to minimize the impact that these changes are going to have on current employees,\u201d Cowley said.<\/p>\n The Report filed a separate public records request in January for all reports generated by UTA in order to lay off employees. The University of Texas System appealed the request to the attorney general\u2019s office.<\/p>\n That office ruled that the request could be denied because the records were covered by attorney-client privilege. However, the UT System\u2019s brief revealed some information about the layoffs.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this instance, information at issue consists of recommendations concerning the restructuring of a department, the elimination of specific positions, and the reallocation of services due to a lack of continuous federal funding and significant financial uncertainties,\u201d associate general counsel Audra Gonzalez Welter said in the brief.<\/p>\n The layoff process<\/p>\n University policy<\/a> dictates the circumstances under which a reduction in force, commonly known as layoffs, can be implemented. A department head must determine layoffs are necessary because of a budget shortage, lack of work or a reorganization.<\/p>\n The department must generate a report explaining why each position\u2019s elimination is necessary before it can lay off an employee. Layoffs must be approved by the vice president in charge of the department; the vice president of talent, culture, and engagement; and UTA\u2019s chief legal officer or their designee.<\/p>\n The university must consider alternatives before laying off employees. Some alternatives include temporary leaves of absence without pay, pay freezes, pay cuts or demotions. When determining which positions to eliminate, the university may not consider an individual person\u2019s salary or eligibility for retirement, the policy says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe university regularly reviews its financial position and operational needs to support long-term sustainability,\u201d the statement said. \u201cStaffing decisions are part of this ongoing process, with a focus on aligning resources to ensure the institution\u2019s continued strength and viability.\u201d<\/p>\n Layoffs elsewhere<\/p>\n UTA is not the only university to implement layoffs recently. In February, colleges and universities nationwide reduced employee rolls by more than 300 people through layoffs or the elimination of unfilled roles, Inside Higher Ed<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n Duke University announced last summer that more than 600 employees<\/a> accepted buyouts as the private research university faced budget strain from federal cuts. The Durham, North Carolina-based school had laid off 45 employees<\/a> by September.<\/p>\n The New School in New York City offered employees a buyout program<\/a> in December to address years of budget shortfalls due to declining enrollment. The private university is expected to notify<\/a> some faculty and staff in June that they are being laid off.<\/p>\n Idaho State University told faculty in February that the public university is laying off 45 employees<\/a> as it faces a mandate from the state to cut its budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n McKinnon Rice is the higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Fort Worth Report partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.<\/p>\n The Report\u2019s higher education coverage is supported in part by major higher education institutions in Tarrant County, including Tarleton State University, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M-Fort Worth, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT Health Science Center. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/04\/27\/49-uta-employees-have-faced-layoffs-since-june-2025-records-show\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&quality=80&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n <img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/?republication-pixel=true&post=513773&ga4=2820184429″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/04\/27\/49-uta-employees-have-faced-layoffs-since-june-2025-records-show\/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } <\/script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/fortworthreport.org\/p.js”><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by McKinnon Rice, Fort Worth Report April 27, 2026 The University of Texas at Arlington has notified 49…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":757765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,7948,7371,7372,10076,5615,7375,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,23760,68,2969],"class_list":["post-757764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-america","tag-arlington","tag-fort-worth","tag-fortworth","tag-higher-ed","tag-lead","tag-tarrant-county","tag-texas","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-university-of-texas-at-arlington","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116479525356063688","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=757764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/757765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=757764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=757764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=757764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}