All the Russell Group unis which are culling your lecturers’ jobs in 2025

If Russell Group unis all wrote an ins and outs list for 2025, it would be in with financial disasters, and out with hundreds of jobs. A concerningly large number of UK unis have already announced they’ll be cutting back on staff in 2025, including Lancaster University, the University of Kent, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Reading.

Even the Russell Group unis are having to cut back on staff in a desperate scramble to avoid going broke. Here’s a rundown of all the Russell Group unis which have already announced they’re getting rid of jobs in 2025.

Cardiff University

Cardiff campus looking cute
(image by Dolica via Creative Commons)

The uni has a working deficit of £32.8 million. Yikes. The deficit could reportedly rise to an eye-watering £65 million soon. Cardiff is having to make some serious sacrifices to avoid going broke. On 28th January, Cardiff University confirmed it was planning to get rid of 400 jobs.

Cardiff is also going ahead with its much-contested plans to scrap the ancient languages courses. Sorry, Classics girlies. Cardiff is cutting degrees in nursing, modern languages, ancient history, religion, theology, music and translation. Other departments could be merged in order to cut costs.

The Vice-Chancellor Wendy Larner said she was aiming for “a slightly smaller university refocused around our core and emerging strengths”.

The University and College Union (UCU) called the cuts “cruel”, “brutal and unnecessary”. The union has suggested the staff protest through a mass walkout sometime within the next 90 days.

Durham University

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Durham Cathedral looking vibey
(Image by Jungpionier via Creative Commons)

The uni announced on 28th January it’s going to axe 200 jobs in 2025. That’s legit four per cent of jobs at the uni. According to the BBC,  Durham Uni is aiming to save £5 million by disposing of academic staff, and another £5 million by getting rid of other jobs at the uni.

The university announced: “If these savings cannot be secured through voluntary means, compulsory measures cannot be ruled out.”

The University and College Union (UCU) is fairly unimpressed that Durham Uni might have to resort to compulsory redundancies. The union is going to formally dispute the decision.

Newcastle University

Just admire the pretty river x

Last week, Newcastle University opened a voluntary redundancy scheme. The uni aims to dispose of around 300 jobs, so they can save  £20 million on staff cuts. If not enough staff sign up to the scheme, then Newcastle will have to resort to firing people.

The uni has also told academic staff to cut back on “unfunded research”. Although, the union has argued students’ tuition fees fund whatever their lecturers do, so none of their research should count as “unfunded”.

The Newcastle UCU is pretty unimpressed that jobs are under threat while the Vice-Chancellor is claiming back expenses for a trip to India. The chair, Professor Matt Perry, said,”Our members are furious that hundreds of jobs are being threatened while University Executive Board continue to jet set around the world. We are currently balloting for industrial action so that the university reprioritises staff and students.

“This government was handed universities with a funding model that is unsustainable. They were not responsible for this. But Bridget Phillipson is responsible for sorting the mess out. Cuts in universities are a disaster for regions like ours and for the future of our young people.”

A Newcastle University spokesperson defended the trip to India: “As a global top 130 university that employs more than 6,000 people and has over 28,000 students, it is a vital part of the Vice-Chancellor’s role to represent the University on the international stage.”

University of Sheffield

That’s it, Sheffield students, keep on smiling

At the end of 2024, the Uni of Sheffield announced it was opening a Voluntary Severance Scheme. The uni has a rather alarming £50 million deficit, so is hoping to save £23 million in staff costs.

Sheffield is encouraging staff to leave in lots of different academic departments – architecture, East Asia studies, engineering, management, journalism, landscape architecture, maths and physics. In January, the University of Sheffield has suggested further changes to the School of East Asia studies, according to The Sheffield Tab. The uni might stop running separate courses in Chinese, Japanese and Korean, and move staff to a different department.

The University of Sheffield International College is run by the private company Study Group. The college runs foundation courses to prepare students for the University of Sheffield. 36 people’s jobs might be cut. On 29th January, the staff voted to strike.

Featured image of Durham University by Suicasmo via Creative Commons.