Vanderbilt University Medical Center to lay off up to 650 after Trump administration grant cuts

Vanderbilt University Medical Center will lay off hundreds of employees as a result of federal grant cuts. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, one of the largest academic research and hospital care systems in the southeast, expects to lay off 650 employees as a result of grant and other funding cuts made by the Trump Administration, it said in a statement.  

The teaching and trauma care hospital system will reduce operating costs by $300 million overall, the statement said.  The medical center said the cuts are being made “in response to the impact of budgetary actions in Washington, DC related to government-sponsored research and patient care.”

The staffing cuts affect employees primarily in research, administrative and other support areas, the statement said. 

“While this is extremely difficult, the staffing loss represents less than 2% of VUMC’s total workforce,” the statement said. “To support affected employees, VUMC is providing severance packages and other assistance.

“VUMC sees more than 3.5 million patient visits each year and remains committed to meeting the needs of all who depend on us for health care.”

The statement noted that Vanderbilt University Medical Center will continue to hire clinical staff for a long-planned, 180-bed Jim Ayers Tower.