University of Maryland cuts more than 80 jobs amid budget strain

The University of Maryland, College Park laid off 84 employees on Wednesday, a move that hit one of Prince George’s County’s biggest employment centers just as the campus faced a widening budget squeeze.

University leaders said the cuts were part of Fiscal Year 2027 budget actions tied to a projected $18 million increase in energy costs and a $15 million decrease in federal funding. The university also said it had lost another $104 million over the previous three years. Earlier in the spring, officials had warned that as many as 150 positions could be eliminated as the school tried to absorb more than $104 million in state base-budget reductions.

The pressure did not start there. University of Maryland’s FY 2026 current funds operating budget is $2.98 billion, but the president’s budget update said the campus absorbed an additional 2 percent reduction in funding, or $17 million, during budget preparation. That update said administrators responded by not filling recently vacated positions, reducing contractual and hourly positions, cutting travel, capital and consultant spending, and pausing merit increases for non-bargaining employees.

For Prince George’s County, the impact reaches far beyond the campus payroll. College Park is a major economic hub for nearby residents, contractors, students and service workers whose income depends on university spending. Job cuts at a flagship public university can quickly ripple through local households, rental demand, campus services and small businesses that rely on steady foot traffic and university contracts.

The layoffs also land in the middle of a labor system that already has formal rules around staffing cuts. The University System of Maryland’s AFSCME contract runs from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027, and includes a 90-day notice requirement for layoffs or job abolishments affecting bargaining-unit employees. AFSCME Maryland Council 3 says it represents more than 55,000 public service workers statewide and nearly 6,000 University System of Maryland workers under the first system-wide contract. That makes the latest cuts not just a budget decision, but another test of how Maryland’s public institutions balance finances, staffing and labor commitments under pressure.