The Viterbi School for Engineering will face a decrease in graduate student enrollment, but did not confirm that layoffs would occur in the spring semester, according to the chair of the engineering faculty council.
The Viterbi School for Engineering provided the following response when asked about the timing and number of positions that might be eliminated.
“We are in the process of completing our routine planning for Spring 2026,” the statement said. “In this process, we routinely review class schedules and offerings, adjusting them as needed based on various parameters, including enrollment changes.”
Lucio Soibelman, who is the chair of the engineering faculty council, said that the dean’s office informed the council that graduate student enrollment, particularly the Master’s programs, is expected to “drop significantly, which would worsen our current financial situation.” Soibelman declined to comment on the exact number of funds that would be lost.
The Viterbi engineering faculty council, during this month’s staff meeting, discussed “updates on Viterbi budget issues and restructuring process.”
Soibelman said that although faculty raised questions “about the possibility of a new round of layoffs or any impact on part-time faculty, the dean’s office did not confirm that such measures were expected.”
Morning Trojan released in its newsletter on Tuesday that Viterbi could “potentially force more budget cuts and layoffs” due to declining graduate student enrollment.
Soibelman said he was “very upset” that it was published because it “referenced discussions from the EFC meeting without confirming the information with [him] to ensure accuracy.”
Tomoki Chien, the founder of Morning Trojan, gave the following statement in response:
“We appreciate our readers who send in tips and stand by our reporting. Contact me anytime at tomo@morningtrojan.com.”
Ivan Bermejo-Morveno, a member of the EFC and associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, said “no specifics were provided about potential layoffs in Spring 2026.”
Chelsea Garcia, a second-year electrical and computer engineering major, said she would not like to lose faculty members who have played a significant role in her life and the Viterbi community.
“It would be very sad to see someone who contributed so much to my journey let go,” Garcia said. “But I believe that USC is trying their best with all students, and obviously I think they do have us in mind, but at the same time, it’s just so many external factors that I don’t think we as students can control, and sometimes even USC can’t control.”
Earlier this semester, Viterbi laid off all 57 of their student academic advisors. They were told they could reapply for their jobs, but only 44 positions would be available, likely at a reduced salary.
During the October EFC meeting, Provost Guzman attempted to address the budgetary structural deficits through layoffs. He said that the “academic mission” would be preserved. The units were “asked to submit plans for central administrative approval,” and Guzman notes that the goal was to be “lasting transformations.”
The former chair noted the “dedication and anxiety of student advising staff” and asked for more information about how the school is “pushing back.” The meeting notes do not mention how “Viterbi has pushed back and tried to exercise leverage” in opposition to these layoffs.
In the same meeting, the EFC voted for the approval of a resolution requesting the USC Academic Senate for greater transparency from the university on past and future fiscal plans.
Thirteen members voted “yes” for the approval of the resolution, with no abstentions or “no” votes.
In the meeting notes, the former chair noted that the “resolution can be helpful to send a signal that there is faculty resistance to the administration’s opacity in its financial affairs and unilateral decision-making” and “that this resolution is a necessary step in asserting the faculty’s role in university governance processes.”
Garcia said all the talk about layoffs shows how the future is uncertain.
“Is my mentor going to be gone next spring? We still don’t know,” she said. “And I know Viterbi is not the only college within USC suffering.”
Interim President Beong-Soo Kim assured the university community in an email on November 3 that no more layoffs were expected this year.
In Kim’s statement, “over 900 layoffs” have been issued since July, though the exact number is uncertain.
Leah Valera Castro, a first-year industrial systems engineering major, said worries about faculty layoffs can distract them from their number one priority of teaching.
“I would really like my faculty to not be dealing with what’s going on with them and the whole department,” she said. “I hope they’re okay. They have to be okay for us to be okay.”
Valera Castro said that despite the layoffs, she is hopeful that her college can still move forward.
“I really love being in Viterbi. I love my major so far, so I just want the department to be able to keep going forward, and it’s been very successful,” Valera Castro said. “I understand a lot of these changes are due to the budget cuts, but I just hope moving forward this year, we can still be as successful.”