Further 190 jobs to be cut at Dundee University in third round of redundancies

Dundee University has announced that a further 190 jobs will be cut as it continues to struggle with a financial crisis.

More than 600 people have lost their jobs since the institution began cost-cutting in August 2024.

Staff at risk of redundancy are being informed on Tuesday. The university says it needs to make £20 million in savings.

Dundee University is currently operating at a loss of around £2m a month. A voluntary severance scheme was first held last summer, which led to the loss of 290 jobs.

Nigel Seaton has conceded that continued job uncertainty for his staff is not fair STV News

A second round of the scheme to cut another 180 roles opened in February.

Professor Nigel Seaton, interim principal and vice-chancellor, said the number of people working at the university had reduced by 675 between August 2024 and May 2026.

But unions believe this number will be significantly higher.

“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,” Professor Seaton said.

“Over the last 18 months we have taken vigorous action to address our financial situation, including two rounds of voluntary severance, introducing tighter financial controls, freezing non-essential recruitment and limiting our operational expenditure.”

Previously, Professor Seaton told STV News he has not yet worked out what size workforce the university would be able to sustain in the long term.