The University of Texas at Austin made headlines again after laying off roughly 20 communications staff members, claiming that the university is shifting its focus to “managing reputational issues and crises.”

UT Austin cut 19 to 20 full-time positions in communications and marketing, according to The Daily Texan. The exact number of laid-off employees is unclear. The affected employees’ last day will be August 31.

The job cuts affected about a quarter of the department, per KUT 90.5. Mike Rosen, a spokesperson for UT Austin, told the radio station that the department was going through a “restructure.”

Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Emily Reagan informed the laid-off employees about the decision on a Zoom call, per KUT. During the call, Reagan said that the layoffs were the result of “crises” and the university’s need to focus on “reputational issues.”

“[N]ow, more than ever, it is critical for our central marketing and communications function to focus intently on managing reputational issues and crises,” Reagan wrote in an email to the laid-off employees, which was obtained by KUT.

“It has become clear that we need greater strength in crisis communications, and the crises we have faced have made it difficult to invest properly in our brand, impact, and long-run reputation,” she wrote.

Reagan reportedly encouraged the affected employees to begin looking for new jobs during their work hours.

The wave of layoffs follows a tumultuous few months for the university. A string of anti-Israel campus protests in April and May led to the arrests of over 100 protesters, as previously reported by The Dallas Express at the scene.

University President Jay Hartzell’s decision to call in hundreds of police officers to disperse the mass demonstrations resulted in an open letter of no confidence by members of UT faculty seeking Hartzell’s resignation.

“We, faculty members at the University of Texas at Austin, no longer have confidence in President Jay Hartzell,” the letter begins. “… The President has shown himself to be unresponsive to urgent faculty, staff, and student concerns. He has violated our trust. The University is no longer a safe and welcoming place for the diverse community of students and scholars who until now have called this campus home.”

The letter was signed by over 600 UT Austin faculty and staff. Agitators even gathered outside Hartzell’s home, chanting, “Hartzell, Hartzell, you’re a clown; we demand that you step down.”

Hartzell never directly responded to the letter of no confidence or protesters’ demands that he resign his position.