The University of Aberdeen has announced plans to cut up to 111 jobs as part of a £10 million savings plan aimed at achieving financial stability by 2028. The university court, the institution's governing body, described the challenge as “stark” and said “decisive action” is necessary to protect its future.
Staff were informed via email from interim senior governor Gary McRae and principal Professor Peter Edwards. The message stated that future staffing budgets would be guided by indicative student-to-staff ratios. While the university aims to reduce staff numbers through voluntary means, including enhanced retirement and voluntary severance schemes opening next week, compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out as a last resort.
The university is currently forecasting a £4 million surplus for the financial year ending July 31, but officials caution that this is largely due to one-off savings and income that cannot be relied upon in future years, masking an underlying structural deficit. The savings plan is intended to eliminate annual uncertainty and generate surpluses for investment.
Professor Edwards said: “Scottish universities have never been more challenged. Decisive action is needed to protect the future of our university and allow us to return to a more stable footing.” Dan Cutts, co-chair of the University and College Union’s Aberdeen branch, called the cuts “absolutely devastating” and expressed anger and distress among members, questioning the logic of cuts when the university reports a surplus.
UCU members at Aberdeen have previously taken strike action over job cuts, and similar industrial action has occurred at other Scottish institutions. First Minister John Swinney addressed the situation at Holyrood, urging the university to consider the findings of the Gillies review, which examined financial challenges at the University of Dundee, and to engage constructively with all parties.
