Up to 111 jobs could be lost at the University of Aberdeen as part of a £10 million savings plan, the institution has announced. The university court, its governing body, stated that the university faces a “stark” challenge and “decisive action” is necessary to safeguard its future. The court has agreed to the savings plan to meet the target of breaking even by 2028.
Voluntary Redundancies Preferred
The court emphasised its commitment to reducing staff numbers through voluntary means as much as possible. Enhanced retirement and voluntary severance schemes are set to open next week. However, compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out in the future, though they remain a last resort.
Staff were informed of the news on Thursday via an email from Gary McRae, interim senior governor, and Professor Peter Edwards, principal and vice-chancellor. The message indicated that future staffing budgets would be guided by indicative student-to-staff ratios.
Details of the Reduction
According to the email: “Based on current indicative modelling, the papers presented to court showed that the total reduction in our academic workforce could be up to 111 full-time equivalent. Importantly, however, the focus of the decision made by court was to reduce our costs, not to reduce our workforce by a specific number.”
The message also noted that after two years of deficit, the institution is currently forecasting a £4 million surplus for the end of its financial year on July 31. However, much of this is due to “one-off savings and income which cannot be relied on to occur again in future years, and which mask the underlying structural deficit.”
Need for Financial Stability
The court stated that the £10 million savings plan is essential to ensure financial stability, 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 to grow and succeed in a way that meets the needs of the communities we serve.”
Union Reaction
Dan Cutts, co-chair of the University and College Union’s Aberdeen branch, expressed dismay: “This is absolutely devastating for the workforce. There is a lot of anger, distress and worry amongst our members who have been working tirelessly to support their students. Our members are baffled as to why senior management are choosing to make these drastic job cuts when the university’s financial situation has improved and they report we are in surplus. Management plans are illogical and will be damaging to the student experience here at Aberdeen University. UCU will be gauging the feelings of our membership over the next few days and there is no doubt that our union will be fighting back against these devastating cuts.”
UCU members at the university had previously taken strike action earlier this spring in a dispute over job cuts, with similar industrial action occurring at other institutions across Scotland over proposed cuts.
Government Response
In Holyrood on Thursday, First Minister John Swinney stated that ministers expect the University of Aberdeen to take into account issues raised in the Gillies review. That review was established to investigate the serious financial situation at the University of Dundee, with its report published last year. Mr Swinney said: “Ministers would expect the University of Aberdeen – and any university – to take due account of the issues that were set out in the Gillies review and the terms of the availability of funding through the Scottish Funding Council. I encourage the University of Aberdeen to engage constructively with all interested parties to ensure that that is the case.” He also noted that Ben Macpherson, the minister for innovation, technology and tertiary education, would be willing to meet with the trade unions.
