University of Brighton cuts 103 academic staff jobs

Lecturer Kate Aughterson (right) is taking part in a rally on Monday to protest the cuts

The University of Brighton is cutting 103 of its academic staff, a move unions and staff claim will "decimate" certain subjects.

The university said it had retained "the right staff with the collective skills, experience and expertise to continue to deliver our full range of courses".

Nearly a quarter of the redundancies are compulsory.

An academic who has lost her job said the situation was "a big mess".

"I feel bad for the students as well as myself," said Kate Aughterson, a principal lecturer in English literature.

"There are second years who have chosen the modules I teach based on my research."

Out of 36 professors at the university, 10 are facing redundancy.

A university spokesperson said: "As a provider of high-quality, skills-based education, there are significant opportunities for us to continue to strengthen our position as we look to the future.

"The changes we are making to our workforce will help us to do that."

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Dr Aughterson said she did not feel she would get another job at this stage of her career and still had two dependent children.

Another principal lecturer in the school of business law said he was "very angry" about being made redundant and found it "daunting looking for a job after 22 years" at the university.

Both members of staff are appealing against their redundancy as they said the process lacked transparency, robustness and equity.

The University College Union, which is holding a rally on Monday afternoon to protest the cuts, said in a statement: "The job cuts will decimate subjects including art, literature, education, acute care and nursing, engineering, and sport science at Brighton.

"University senior managers claim they need to make £17.9m in savings, yet have splashed more than £50m on building projects in the last two years."

The University of Brighton said it had been open with its staff about the nature of the financial challenge and consulted fully with trade unions on the proposals.

"Like many other universities, the backdrop to these changes has a significant financial dimension," a spokesperson said.

"We continue to do all we can to support those colleagues impacted by these proposals."

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