All the Russell Group unis which might get rid of your lecturers to save money

It’s not a secret anymore that unis across the UK are having serious financial problems – even the fanciest Russell Group unis. The rise in tuition fees probably isn’t going to make a big difference to unis’ massive financial deficits. Unis are having to take drastic action to avoid going bust, such as cutting arts and humanities courses. I guess not everyone can be as rich as an Oxbridge college.

Times Higher Education reckons that 10,000 jobs could be cut across the country. Staff at the boujiest Russell Group unis aren’t safe. Loads of Russell Group unis have already started voluntary redundancy schemes, and are warning that they might have to cut more people’s jobs to save money. So, here’s a rundown of all the Russell Group unis which have already got rid of staff, or are cutting jobs right now.

University of Birmingham

Brum is one of the many, many Russell Group unis which is resorting to cutting jobs. The University launched a Voluntary Leavers Scheme on 1st November, and hopes to get rid of 300-400 staff.

Lectures at the Birmingham branch of the University and College Union (UCU) were pretty unimpressed by this, because the uni apparently didn’t give them much notice and was told in a newsletter a week before that the “University of Birmingham is currently thriving”. That doesn’t exactly seem to be the case.

Cardiff University

This uni is really not living, laughing or loving right now. Cardiff Uni has a £30 million black hole in its budget. This summer, the Uni ran a voluntarily redundancy scheme to encourage higher-paid staff to retire early.

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The Vice-Chancellor Prof Wendy Larner told BBC News that the uni has stopped recruiting new staff for the time being. She said, “At this stage we are not talking about compulsory redundancies. But given how quickly things are changing in the sector around us… of course, I can’t rule it out.”

Durham University

The uni hasn’t got rid of any staff yet. But according to Times Higher Education, the uni has recently warned staff that there might be job cuts on the horizon.

University of Edinburgh

On 18th November, the Vice-Chancellor Sir Peter Mathieson warned staff that sacking staff to save money could be “unavoidable“.

He 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.”

Peter Mathieson currently has a base salary of £348,000.

University of Exeter

I don’t think there’s a massive shortage of cash in Exetaaaaaaah

The uni ran a voluntary severance scheme called The Exeter Release Scheme in May and June. The Exeter UCU condemned the uni for not being more open with staff about the plans for this. Exeter seems to be in a much better position than lots of other Russell Group unis – they still had a large surplus at the end of the last financial year. The uni hasn’t announced any more plans for job cuts.

Newcastle University

The uni is really struggling now that fewer international students want to study in the UK (can’t say I blame them). Staff got an email in September saying there’s a rather large £35 million hole in the budget. The uni has to pull together an extra £20 million to avoid a financial deficit at the end of the year.

Newcastle Uni is reportedly stopping promoting people and is planning a voluntary severance scheme.

University of Nottingham

Notts is not rolling in cash right now. According to Nottinghamshire Live, the uni had to start a Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme in the summer. Apparently, the uni has stopped hiring new staff for the time being.

The UCU worried that the uni spent too much money on the fancy new Castle Meadow campus. The uni spent £36 million on the site in 2021, and has invested loads of money into developing the buildings.

HMRC staff used to work in the Castle Meadow buildings
(Credit: Alan Murray-Rust via Creative Commons)

Queen’s University Belfast

The BBC says Queen’s University Belfast is on track to have a deficit of more than £11 million in the 2024-2025 academic year. The uni hopes its voluntary severance scheme will get rid of 270 staff – over five per cent of its workforce.

Unions are unimpressed with how Queen’s University Belfast is going about this. The University and College Union (UCU) told the BBC, “The union has not been supplied with the information required by law to engage in statutory consultation.”

University of Sheffield

Presumably Sheffield has no money left to make the campus look prettier?

According to the BBC, the Uni of Sheffield could have a £50 million shortfall by the end of the year. The uni has 2,200 fewer students than it did last year.

The uni is having to take fairly drastic action. Sheffield plans to get rid of enough staff over the next two years to save £23 million. The university is scrapping the archaeology department altogether.

On Thursday, in an all-staff meeting with over 1000 attendees online and in person, 944 attendees participated in a vote with 93.3% saying they have “no confidence” in the VC and University Executive Board.

— Sheffield UCU (@sheffielducu) November 15, 2024

On Thursday 14th November, 93 per cent of the staff and students passed a vote of no confidence in the uni’s leaders.

University of York

It’s been a tough year for York. First, students have to cope with the death of a very old duck from natural causes. Then, hundreds of staff were warned their actual jobs were at risk. God, does it ever end?

The Uni has to somehow reduce its budget by £34 million. A voluntary severance scheme earlier this year aimed to get rid of between 300 and 700 staff members.

In September, the Uni of York announced it was going to shut the receptions in the Wentworth, Alcuin, Derwent and James buildings. It was too expensive to pay staff to run them.

Feature image credit: EugenStoica via Creative Commons