CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University, the richest and oldest U.S. institution of higher education, will cut about 275 staff positions in response to its endowment’s sinking value, Bloomberg News reported.

The firings at most of Harvard’s schools and its central administration will be made during the next seven days, Marilyn Hausammann, vice president for human resources at the university, said in a letter to employees last week. About 40 more workers will be offered positions with reduced work hours, she said.

Harvard President Drew Faust has tightened spending controls, frozen salaries and offered employees early retirement as the school estimates its endowment will fall 30 percent for the fiscal year that ends this month. Construction of laboratories has slowed, and professors have expressed concern that budget cuts will diminish course offerings and the quality of student life.

More layoffs are possible, though Harvard isn’t planning any now, Kevin Galvin, a school spokesman, said in an e-mail.

Harvard had about 12,950 full-time, nonfaculty employees in October, according to the university’s Web site. About half of those fired will be administrative staff, and the rest will be unionized clerical and technical workers, Hausammann’s letter said. The reductions don’t include faculty members. •