UMaine lab lays off 9 employees, blames federal funding uncertainty

Yahoo

16-05-2025

May 15—A University of Maine research lab leading efforts in offshore wind and 3D printing has laid off nine employees after the federal government halted millions of dollars in funding.
Employees of UMaine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center were notified Monday.
The nine employees included engineers, scientists and technicians. The layoffs are effective June 6.
The Composites Center, which the university system called the "most productive university research center in the state," receives more than 85% of its funding from grants and federal contracts. It employs 200 regular employees and supported 182 student workers during the past spring semester.
In a message to employees, center leaders said the pauses in federal funding have required research projects to be slowed or "rescoped" and necessitated the layoffs.
"Regrettably, we must implement a carefully targeted employee reduction to align the size of our workforce with the level of resources available now and in the foreseeable future," officials wrote. "Our leading work in composite materials, advanced manufacturing, the GEM Factory of the Future, national defense, boatbuilding, transportation, housing and energy addresses pressing technical and societal needs. Looking ahead, we will continue to seek new research opportunities that build on these tremendous strengths and further diversify our funding portfolio."
The university did not say which projects the employees were working on and said it will not comment further on the layoffs while it works to "support affected employees and pursue restoration of federal awards and further funding diversification."
The layoffs come just one month after the Trump administration directed UMaine to halt activity on $15.8 million in offshore wind research projects, including a floating turbine that researchers have worked on for over a decade and was weeks away from a final launch. According to the university, $3.4 million remains to be paid out.
The University of Maine System received a letter from the U.S. Department of Energy on April 11 saying it was suspending the projects for "failure to comply" with federal policies, but did not specify which ones.
The day he took office, Trump issued a memorandum temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters. He has, for years, attacked wind power as harmful to wildlife, instead promising to increase production of fossil fuels, which he said will lower energy and electric costs.
But offshore wind is not the composite center's sole focus.
The center last year broke ground on an $82 million, 50,000-square-foot Green Engineering and Materials building to house a massive 3D printing manufacturing hub and training space.
Among other projects, the school hopes to use the space, which will house the world's largest 3D printer, to streamline and commercialize the production of 3D-printed houses made from Maine wood waste. Modular housing — including 3D-printed housing — has been eyed as a less expensive and faster means of housing production.
At the start of his term, Trump vowed to reduce housing costs and expand supply amid the country's ongoing and worsening housing crisis.
The university did not answer questions about whether the layoffs or the funding cuts are expected to impact the Factory of the Future, which is expected to open next year. It said payments to the center for other awards have also been delayed during the federal transition, but did not specify which awards.
The federal Energy Department has announced a limit on the amount it will reimburse universities to support administrative and research expenses, though courts have paused implementation of the cuts.
The offshore funding halt is one of the many that the Trump administration has levied against Maine since February, when Gov. Janet Mills and Trump publicly clashed over the state allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls' sports. Several funding freezes have since been reversed.
The UMaine System was briefly investigated by the Trump administration for potential Title IX violations, during which the system "clearly communicated its compliance," spokesperson Samantha Warren said at the time.
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