Union appalled by plans to cut 200 university jobs

A union has said it is "appalled" by a university's plans to axe 200 jobs as part of cost-cutting measures.

Durham University said it was planning to make £10m cuts during the current academic year and a further £10m during 2025-26.

It said this was needed because the university had reported an "underlying operational deficit" for the first time.

The University and College Union (UCU) said it was initiating formal dispute procedures because the university had "refused to rule out compulsory redundancies".

It also said the cuts were targeting professional services and support staff who provide the backbone infrastructure that allows the university to run smoothly.

A UCU spokesperson said: "There is no university without its staff.

"Cutting staff costs will result in a diminished student experience and in a context where workload is already a significant cause for concern."

The university said it was aiming to reduce its professional staff costs by £5m and its academic staff cost by another £5m during the 2025-26 academic year.

It also said "strenuous efforts" would be made to find staff willing to apply for voluntary severance but "compulsory measures" could not be ruled out.

University's vice-chancellor Prof Karen O'Brien said: "We cannot fulfil our aims of remaining a world-class centre of research and education without a firmly established and sustainable financial base.

"We appreciate today's announcement will be concerning to staff.

"We are committed to working with our recognised trade unions and our staff in an open, transparent, and timely way to achieve the savings required."

The university said the higher education sector was facing an "extremely difficult environment" due to underfunding in home, undergraduate students and research, high inflation and volatility in international student recruitment.

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