USC cutting 259 staff members to tackle rising $230 million deficit

The University of Southern California began cutting of 259 jobs on Friday to help tackle its rising operating deficit of more than $230 million

Since July 9, USC has laid off — or is in the process of terminating — 975 people throughout the university system’s nearly 24,600 faculty and staff. That tally doesn’t include 9,185 student workers.

The university is “reducing and reorganizing its workforce due to cutbacks in funding and necessary budget reductions,” wrote Melissa Gerdes-Leonard, associate vice president of client services with USC’s human resources department, in an Oct. 27 letter filed with the state’s Employment Development Department.

The latest round of layoffs are happening at USC’s University Park, a leafy 229-acre main campus for the institution’s academic schools and