Strathclyde University to cut around 70 jobs as part of £35M savings plan

The University of Strathclyde is set to cut around 70 jobs as it looks to make £35 million in savings over the next two years, sparking concern from staff unions.

The university confirmed it is implementing £20 of planned savings this year, followed by a further £15 million next year, with dozens of roles now under threat.

The University of College Union (UCU) has said any use of compulsory redundancies would be “unacceptable”, urging the university to explore alternative ways of addressing its budget shortfall.

Despite being named Scotland’s University of the Year earlier this year, Strathclyde said the measures are necessary to protect its long-term future amid growing financial pressures across the UK higher education sector.

Mike Williamson from UCU said: “We will use any tool at our disposal to stop these job losses and will be consulting our members at Strathclyde over the coming weeks as we decide what to do.”

Union officials have warned that staff cut risk impacting teaching, research, and student support services, particularly at a time when workloads are already stretched.

In a statement, a spokesperson from the university said: “The financial pressures on the UK university sector are well documented. Strathclyde maintains a strong strategic, academic and reputational position, and we are proactively reshaping our finances to ensure we continue to deliver excellent teaching, research and innovation. This is a continuation of the approach we have taken over the past two years to manage costs and increase income. Using a wide range of measures, we are implementing £20m of planned savings this year and £15m next year.”

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The university has not yet confirmed which departments will be affected, or whether redundancies will be voluntary, but discussions with staff and unions are expected to take place in the coming weeks.

For students, the announcement raises fresh questions about how financial pressures facing universities could impact courses, support services and staff workloads going forward.

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