University of Aberdeen could axe up to 111 jobs as part of £10m savings

Up to 111 jobs at the University of Aberdeen could be lost as part of a £10m savings plan.

The university court – the institution’s governing body – said the university faces a “stark” challenge and “decisive action” is needed to protect its future.

It has agreed the £10m savings plan to meet its target of breaking even by 2028.

The court said it is committed to reducing staff numbers by voluntary means as far as possible and enhanced retirement and voluntary severance schemes will open next week.

However, it said compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out in the future, though they remain a last resort.

Staff were told the news on Thursday in an email from Gary McRae, interim senior governor, and Professor Peter Edwards, principal and vice-chancellor.

The message said future staffing budgets will be informed by indicative student/staff ratios.

It states: “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 the court was to reduce our costs, not to reduce our workforce by a specific number.”

The message says 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, it said 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”.

The court said the £10m savings plan is needed to ensure financial stability, eradicate annual uncertainty, and generate surpluses for investment.

Prof 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.”

Dan Cutts, co-chair of the Aberdeen branch of the University and College Union, said the news is “absolutely devastating” for staff and the union will “fight this as hard as possible”.

He told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast: “There are other things that can be done, but it seems that yet again the easiest thing that they can do is just to cut staff, and they haven’t considered the reputational impact it’s going to have.

“We’re a regional university; we serve our community.

“Staff have been working so hard to the point we have achieved surplus, but yet we are being punished yet again. It is just unacceptable.”

UCU members at the university took strike action earlier this spring in a dispute over job cuts, while there has also been industrial action at a number of other institutions around Scotland over proposed cuts.