RAND Corp., a Santa Monica-based think tank highly dependent on federal government funding, shed more than 11% of its global workforce on Tuesday, Oct. 21, a spokesman for the nonprofit said late Monday.
Just under a third of the layoffs are effective Nov. 2 at the nonprofit’s headquarters, according to a filing with the state’s Employment Development Department.
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The layoffs were first mentioned publicly by RAND on career networking website LinkedIn.
RAND spokesman Jeremy Rawitch confirmed the layoffs but did not provide a reason for them, or specify how many jobs were cut and where.
According to RAND’s 2023 tax documents, the nonprofit employed 2,396 people in more than 50 countries, suggesting the layoffs could have surpassed 260 people. The company hiring in recent years was up 8.3% from 2,211 people employed in 2021, according to tax filings obtained from Guidestar, an online database that tracks nonprofits.
RAND made the “difficult but necessary decision” to reduce its workforce by “returning to staffing levels of a few years ago,” according to a statement provided by Rawitch to the Southern California News Group. “RAND remains firmly committed to the quality and objectivity that define our research, and our work for clients and sponsors continues uninterrupted,” Rawitch said. “We are providing support to affected colleagues and are grateful for their many contributions to our mission.”
The Linkedin post said that the “shift aligns our resources with changes in the broader research environment.”
In an Oct. 21 letter filed with the EDD, RAND Human Resources Director Nick Bacon said the nonprofit is laying off 72 employees at its Santa Monica headquarters at 1776 Main St. One additional employee was laid off Oct. 17 due to “lack of work,” he said.
“This action is expected to be permanent,” Bacon wrote. “Only a portion (less than 33%) of the workforce at the facility will be laid off.”
The notice filed by Bacon indicated that jobs being cut include accountants, scientists, policy analysts, economists, engineers and political scientists.
The federal government shut Oct. 1 following an impasse in Congress on future funding levels. The Trump administration vowed to slash employment and funding in government during the shutdown.
RAND, which has offices in Santa Monica, Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., three in Europe and one in Australia, conducts research for the federal government, colleges and universities, foundations, nonprofits and the defense industry. It also runs four federally funded research and development centers — independent entities that conduct research for the U.S. government and advise government leaders.
The corporation, which has roots in the post-World War II era in Southern California with a long history of consulting on national security issues, reported annual revenues of $461 million in its 2024 fiscal year. RAND also received nearly 500 grants totalling $178.6 million over the most recent five years of available data, according to Guidestar.
Rand has ventured into many public policy research issues since its founding in 1946. For instance, a recent RAND report found significant undercounting of the homeless population in Los Angeles.
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