Nearly entire Viterbi IT department to be laid off for restructuring, staffer says

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering will lay off 65 people due to funding cutbacks and budget reductions, according to a California Worker Adjustment and Restraining Notification letter sent out Sept. 1.

The layoffs target almost the entirety of Viterbi’s IT department, according to a Viterbi staffer who requested anonymity in order to speak freely. Chief Technology Officer Rob Groome was the only specific person identified by the staffer as one of the few additional administrators who are guaranteed to remain employed.

“Technically everybody in IT’s been laid off,” the staffer said. “It’s a reorganization. That’s the only way they can do it, otherwise they have to go to each person and say: ‘Oh we’ve been looking at your annual reports, and your complaints…’ I’ve been around when they’ve had to fire people. It takes months. They don’t have months.”

The letter said the layoffs were part of a departmental restructure, a move meant to “position USC for the future,” according to a statement from the university to Annenberg Media.

“We are aligning our teams, talent, and resources with the university’s long-term strategic priorities and the evolving needs of our community,” the statement said.

In June 2025, according to the university’s 2025 financial report, the deficit was at $250 million. Because of deficit-related cuts, USC laid off over 1,000 people last year. The layoffs at Viterbi’s IT department are the first layoffs to occur at USC this year.

In a statement from last year, USC President Beong-Soo Kim said the university expected to eliminate its long-term budget deficit by June 2026.

As part of the 2025 layoffs, Viterbi’s entire student academic advising team was laid off. Advisors who wanted to keep their jobs had to reapply for a reduced number of positions, as the team’s size was cut by 11.

“As with the other ones the school has done: You have fewer people doing the same amount of work,” the staffer said. “So you’re going to encourage more turnover and more breakage of your workers by giving them more work to do with less compensation.”

The staffer speculated the jobs most at risk are duplicate positions that can be done remotely. USC did not answer how many positions, or what kind of positions, will reopen at Viterbi after the organization.

While the notice was sent out on Sept. 1, the layoffs will not be effective until Nov. 4 and may continue through Dec. 3. The WARN Act states that employees must be given 60 days notification before any terminations take place.

“You’re laid off but you’re employed for two months while they’re trying to figure out what to do,” the staffer said. “But you still do your job. And then, you know, hopefully you get a letter saying: ‘Congratulations, here’s your new position — same as your old position.’”

Sebastian Summer contributed to the reporting for this piece.