The New School’s AAUP chapter denounced recent layoffs as a major gutting of full-time faculty, calling for reinstatement or phased retirement. The criticism followed the university’s announcement of layoffs of 19 faculty and 68 staff to address a fiscal deficit, a move the chapter says will shrink the fiscal 2027 budget by 15% and support balancing by fiscal 2028. AAUP leaders argued the cuts were not based on performance and said some affected faculty and staff are people of color, with disproportionate impacts reported in humanities and social sciences. The union also tied the workforce changes to the institution’s consolidation plans for four colleges into two. The dispute matters for professionals tracking how private universities balance enrollment declines and structural deficits against faculty protections, long-term academic capacity, and campus governance expectations.