Almost 200 more jobs at Dundee University could be cut to “ensure that the University survives”, the institution has announced. Some 645 posts have already been eliminated through two rounds of voluntary redundancy after a £35 million financial black hole emerged. Bosses now require an additional £20 million in savings, with 190 jobs set to go, spread evenly between teaching and professional services.
Government Response
Education Secretary Mairi McAllan requested a pause on the announcement during a Tuesday morning meeting, according to a government spokesman, who said ministers are “deeply concerned and disappointed”. Interim principal Professor Nigel Seaton, brought in to stabilize the university after the previous leadership was hollowed out by scandal, acknowledged the situation would be “awful” for those at risk but stressed the need to save the institution.
Statement from Interim Principal
In a statement, Prof Seaton said: “We have informed staff that we are moving into collective consultation on proposals to reduce staffing by around 190 posts, split equally across our academic and professional services communities. Staff who are at risk of redundancy are being informed today.” He noted that the university has taken vigorous action over the past 18 months, including two rounds of voluntary severance, tighter financial controls, a freeze on non-essential recruitment, and limits on operational expenditure. The workforce has been reduced by 675 between August 2024 and May 2026.
Prof Seaton added: “We have also received essential support from the Scottish Government, via the Scottish Funding Council, to help us on our road to recovery. However, even after all of this is taken into account, we still have some way to go to become financially sustainable. To achieve this we need to realise further annual savings of around £20 million.” While the university has made progress in cutting non-staff spending, there is “a limit to how much further we can go”, with further savings required from staffing.
He emphasized that the 190 job cuts are only a proposal, but said: “We know this is a very difficult message for staff and all in our community, particularly given the staffing changes that have already been made over recent months. Our aim is that any reduction in roles will be achieved through voluntary redundancy wherever possible.” He added: “I am very conscious of the very difficult – actually, awful – experience that staff in particular have gone through since our financial crisis was acknowledged. If there were any other way to secure the future of the university without carrying out the change we have outlined, we would take it. But we must go through this to ensure that the university survives and that we continue to do great things for our students, for those who benefit from our research, and for society more widely.”
Union Reactions
Ian Ellis, co-president of the Dundee branch of the UCU trade union, called the news “devastating” for staff and students. “Staff are once again paying the price for management failings and a catalogue of managerial missteps,” he said. “Every job that is lost, whether by voluntary redundancy or by possible compulsory redundancies is a tragedy for the individuals impacted but also diminishes the university and leaves increasingly unmanageable workloads for the staff who remain.”
UCU general secretary Jo Grady added: “Only last week UCU members at Dundee returned an overwhelming ballot result to defend jobs and ensure a future for the university. It is for members to decide the next step in this dispute but I know their resolve is undiminished since the crisis was first announced in Autumn 2024. Management should be clear that we will, as we have always done, continue to defend every job that we can both individually and collectively.”
Political Response
Scottish Tory education spokeswoman Meghan Gallacher urged the university against “tightening the screw” further with more job losses. She said: “Rather than fixating on one-off payments which seem today to have done very little, the SNP Government must act to help its leaders form a multi-year plan that secures jobs and learning for students. Failing to do that risks a brain drain and a much-loved uni that functions in name only.”
