New Jersey City University will lay off employees as it prepares to merge with Kean University this summer, both schools said Friday.

Officials at the public universities said they could not confirm the number of employees who will lose their jobs or the impacted departments.

But the Jersey City Times, a local news site, reported at least 151 New Jersey City University employees, including professors, are slated to lose their jobs.

Layoff notices went to 33 faculty members, including 24 tenured and nine non-tenured professors, the Jersey City Times reported, citing numbers provided to the campus faculty union. The layoffs would go into effect June 30.

Kean University is set to merge with New Jersey City University in July. The Jersey City school will be renamed Kean Jersey City under the deal.

The layoffs are necessary because of a projected $25 million budget gap, New Jersey City University spokesman Ira Thor told NJ.com.

“To address that gap, NJCU is taking the steps necessary to make the merger viable, including workforce reductions as part of a broader restructuring plan,” Thor said. “NJCU is making these decisions consistent with recommendations from the University’s state monitor to better align expenses with revenues and strengthen the long-term outlook of the Jersey City campus.”

New Jersey City University is offering voluntary buyouts ahead of layoffs, and employees who could be impacted have been notified, Thor said. A final number of impacted employees is not yet available.

Union representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There are no layoffs at Kean University, said Nicole Francisco, a university spokesperson. But Kean employees have been offered a “voluntary separation program.”

She declined to say how many Kean employees were given the buyout offer.

A state-appointed fiscal monitor advised New Jersey City University in 2024 to partner with a more financially stable institution, either by sharing services or pursuing a merger.

The university also explored a merger with Montclair State before announcing in March 2025 that it was pursuing an agreement with Kean, whose main campus is about 14 miles away in Union. The governing boards at both institutions and their presidents signed off on a merger agreement last year.

Moody’s, one of the nation’s “big three” credit agencies, cited the proposed merger and other factors in upgrading New Jersey City University’s financial outlook from “stable” to “positive” last spring.

NJ.com staff writer Rob Jennings contributed to this report.

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