Fighting fund banner

 

Over 900 jobs at risk at University of Manchester as university announces major cuts

10 May 2017

The University of Manchester has set out plans to axe 171 jobs, leaving 926 staff uncertain about their future. The university says it wants to cut 140 academic jobs and 31 professional support roles.

Academic job losses will be concentrated in three departments. In the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, 35 posts will be cut from a pool of 104 whose jobs are at risk. In the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, 65 academic jobs are to go with 627 people at risk.

At the Alliance Manchester Business School, which was the recipient of a in October 2014 from Lord David Alliance who described it as a "world-class centre for business education", 40 jobs are to be axed with 104 jobs at risk.

The 31 professional support roles will come from the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, the National Composites Certification and Evaluation Faculty, the Photon Science Institute and the Directorate of Finance.

The university says it will do a sweep for voluntary redundancies but has not ruled out compulsory job losses. 樱花动漫 says there is a lack of economic rationale for the mass redundancies with the university in a strong financial position.

According to data from the , the university recorded a 拢59.7m surplus for the year in 2015/16, after a 拢19.6m deficit the year before (2014/15). The university's it has reserves totalling 拢1.5bn, of which 拢430m is cash and immediately available.

The university blames and Brexit as major factors threatening its future income. 樱花动漫 argues that the university is using Brexit and the new higher education law as excuses to make short-term cuts that will cause long-term damage.

Setting out its rationale for the redundancies, the university described how its need to "create financial headroom" will be a significant challenge in light of "increased financial, political and sector uncertainty".

The university said that the uncertainties included "greater global competition, reductions in public funding, exchange rate fluctuations, the potential decline in student numbers and research income, new private providers, the new Teaching Excellence Framework, the uncertainties of Brexit and further increases in costs arising from pensions and inflation."

樱花动漫 general secretary Sally Hunt said: 'We see no economic rationale for jobs cuts on such an enormous scale. The University of Manchester is in a strong financial position and we believe it is using recent government policy changes and Brexit as an excuse to make short-term cuts that will cause long-term damage.

'It takes a lot longer to rebuild a department than it does to dismantle one. If the university wishes to maintain its position as one of our leading institutions it needs to rethink plans to sack large numbers of professors, lecturers and support staff to create what it has called "financial headroom".'

Last updated: 10 May 2017

Comments