Cash-strapped university to cut 150 more jobs

Union members recently took part in five days of strike action in a dispute over job cuts

A university is set to make another 150 job cuts amid what it described as "unprecedented financial challenges" within the higher education sector.

Keele University plans to cut 100 more academic roles and about 50 professional services jobs as it faces a further £5m financial deficit in 2025-26, in addition to a previously announced £6m annual savings target.

The University and College Union (UCU) has condemned the job cuts as an "ill-conceived solution".

However, Keele University leaders said the cuts were a "last resort" but necessary to secure its long-term future.

UCU members recently carried out five days of strike action in a dispute over plans to merge the schools of humanities and social sciences, with 24 academic jobs being axed.

Following the announcement of further job cuts, the UCU called for an immediate halt to redundancies and the establishment of a joint working group to "properly diagnose Keele's financial problems".

"We have consistently argued that the university's financial troubles are misdiagnosed, making staff cuts an ill-conceived solution," a spokesperson said.

The UCU added the the latest decision followed a "dangerous trend of benchmarking driven cuts across higher education" and that redundancies would "pile unsustainable workloads" on remaining staff and ultimately harm students.

"Keele's students understand this, which is why they have vocally supported UCU's industrial action. How can the university fulfil its mission of preparing students for their futures while dismantling the very foundation of their education?" it said.

A spokesperson for the university said its financial challenges were a result of the value of tuition fees being eroded by inflation and uncertainty over the recruitment of international students.

"We have worked hard over several years to ensure Keele is able to withstand these pressures as much as possible, and job losses are always a last resort but are necessary to secure Keele's long-term future," they said.

Keele acknowledged that it was "unsettling news" for both staff and students, and said its priority was to support staff who were affected by the changes and to minimise the impact on students.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.