Edinburgh University staff warned to expect job cuts

The university faces ‘unsustainable’ funding gaps and expects to slash its spending

1 day ago | UPDATED 2 hours ago

In a message to university staff, principal and vice-chancellor Sir Peter Mathieson warned that compulsory redundancies may be necessary “if unavoidable”.

The university cites the UK government’s decision to raise National Insurance (NI) as a key contributing factor to the financial pressures faced by the university.

Earlier this month, Dundee University told its staff that cuts were “inevitable” and Robert Gordon University said 135 redundancies were planned.

In a statement issued to on Monday, Sir Peter said: “The university costs £120m each month to run. In the context of the recent sector challenges around international student recruitment, increasing staff costs since the pandemic, and the unsustainable levels of funding for Scottish and other UK students, our outgoings are consistently higher than our income.

“In response to this situation and recent developments with regards to National Insurance, we have concluded that we need to take a series of actions, which will include selective voluntary and, if unavoidable, compulsory redundancies.”.

The SNP has criticised the NI rise with MSP Michelle Thomson calling it a “backdoor tax” that has “destructive potential” for Scottish universities.

She continues: “The impact won’t just be felt by Scotland’s Universities either – Labour’s NI tax hike could cost the Scottish Government £500m, and Scotland’s voluntary sector £75m.

“Today’s announcement from the University of Edinburgh is the tip of the iceberg as the impact of Labour’s budget becomes clear”.

The news comes after Sir Peter’s pay package, already the highest for a university vice-chancellor at $418,000 was found by The Scotsman to be increasing by five per cent.

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The five per cent increase on Sir Peter’s pay package from the previous year means he will be receiving an uplift of around £20,000.

The rise follows a three per cent increase in the previous year, although Sir Peter refused any extra pay in 2019, 2020 and 2022.

In his statement, Sir Peter says: “We will be offering staff the opportunity to find out more through a variety of online and in-person meetings, and we will continue to work with our unions and managers to help colleagues through these changes.

“I don’t underestimate how unsettling this news will be. However, it is important that I am honest about the scale of the challenge we have and transparent about the actions we need to take to address it.”.

The University of Edinburgh has been approached for comment

Jamie Calder | News