Furloughs, layoffs likely coming at University of Texas

In a May 19 letter addressed to University of Texas faculty and staff, UT President Gregory Fenves and interim president designate Jay Hartzell said declines in expected future revenue will likely lead to furloughs and “permanent reductions in force” in some university departments.

The letter says that “revenue-generating units” will be facing the layoffs and furloughs—or departments that fund their operations through service charges, fees and memberships that have dried up since classes stopped being held on campus.

In addition, UT will no longer offer emergency leave to employees without work, according to the letter. Previously, the university had extended emergency leave to employees who were affected by the pandemic, but according to the letter, UT “cannot extend this leave indefinitely without having a significant financial impact.”

In April, UT announced it would not fund salary merit raises for 2020-21, and any non-salary expenditures exceeding $100,000 would have to be preapproved.

“The University of Texas has been through hard times before, and we’ve always come through them with a strengthened sense of purpose and a dedication to our world-changing mission.” Fenves and Hartzell wrote in the letter. “We have no doubt that this will be the case with COVID-19, and we thank you for your understanding and commitment.”

Fenves will step down as university president June 30 to become the president at Emory University in Atlanta. Hartzell, who was previously the dean of the McCombs School of Business, was named interim president April 8.