Cardiff University tells 1,400 staff members they’re at risk of losing their jobs

1,400 Cardiff University staff have been told their jobs are at risk.

The staff members were emailed about potential redundancies by the university’s director of people and culture, Sally-ann Efstathiou on Wednesday.

She said: “This week we are informing colleagues currently in the in-scope pool for redundancy if they remain in-scope or are now out of scope. I know and recognise that being in-scope is very worrying and unsettling for colleagues.

“At the beginning of this process, 1,800 colleagues were in this pool. We are now able to remove just under 400 colleagues based on the related principles.”

However, Cardiff UCU has said that although 400 jobs seem to have been saved, more could be done.

It pointed to the £188m in reserves the university has which the union alleges it can access.

“Cardiff UCU continues to argue that redundancies are unnecessary and that the University’s existing available cash (in excess of £188m) should be drawn on to fund a more gradual recovery which does not sacrifice jobs. It has submitted detailed, costed proposals with widespread political support to the University to back this up,” a spokesperson said.

Cardiff University responded to this claim, with a spokesperson saying: “Accounting surpluses do not reflect the underlying financial position of running the University. Accounting surpluses are not the same as cash that can be spent to avoid the need to make change in the University.

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“The University faces a structural deficit. This means the revenues we generate from teaching and research do not cover the costs of undertaking these activities. We have already said publicly that the annual report and accounts show that we generated a deficit in this respect of £31.2m for the year ending 31st July 2024. In short, the costs of teaching and research activities were £31.2m more than the income we generated. This is not sustainable. Like all universities whilst the University does have reserves, this is not the same as money that the University can freely spend.”

UCU members during a previous strike outside the Senedd via X

Furthermore, Cardiff’s vice-chancellor Professor Wendy Larner has said all universities have reserves but they “can only be spent once”, adding: “If we spend reserves on the running costs of the University, we delay the inevitability.”

Ms Efstathiou further told colleagues at the university that the potential 400 job losses, announced earlier this year, has also been reduced. This is due to 45 members of staff opting to take voluntary redundancies. She also added that 69 staff members are currently having their voluntary redundancies reviewed, so this number may change again.

This email comes days after Cardiff University announced the approval of its proposal to build a campus in Kazakhstan.

Cardiff UCU has responded to this announcement, claiming the money should be spent on saving staff’s jobs, not on something that has “a danger of rebounding”.

However, a Cardiff spokesperson explained that the university is “not making a capital investment in Kazakhstan”, and that “the only money we have spent on this project has been on due diligence”.

The full statement from Sally-ann Efstathiou is as follows: “This week we are informing colleagues currently in the in-scope pool for redundancy if they remain in-scope or are now out of scope.

“I know and recognise that being in-scope is very worrying and unsettling for colleagues. At the beginning of this process, 1,800 colleagues were in this pool. We are now able to remove just under 400 colleagues based on the related principles.

“As well as consulting with the Trade Unions on these principles, we have agreed there will be two more review points in relation to the in-scope group – 10 April and 24 April.

“At both reviews points we will try to remove as many colleagues from the pools.

“Three broader considerations will influence whether or not we can do this:

1. Alternative proposals for Our Academic Future: we have received 25 so far, and an Our Academic Future Task Group is meeting to review them on 26 March (you can find more detail on that process here). These can and will shape the final proposals and may have an impact on proposed staffing reductions.
2. Number of voluntary redundancy applications: as of 1 November, 45 staff have left via the Voluntary Severance scheme, meaning the reduction in staffing that we are proposing has moved from 400 to 355. We have had an additional 69 applications for Voluntary Redundancy going through the approval process. We will also be looking at the number of empty posts from staff leaving as of November 1. Every time a staff member leaves us voluntarily, that will contribute to the proposed reductions of staffing.
3. Our plans for Cardiff University Kazakhstan: we are working at pace to understand what the academic staffing needs might be; this may reduce the staff reductions that we have proposed for Academic Schools involved in the delivery of programmes. However, I want to reiterate no staff will be made to relocate to Astana.

“Whilst our Trade Union colleagues made it clear that they continue to dispute the approach we are taking, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for the constructive engagement in the process of reducing the in-scope pool.”

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