Cardiff University has announced plans to cut up to 400 academic jobs and axe several degree programmes, including modern languages and ancient history, as it battles a £31 million funding deficit.
The cuts, announced on Tuesday, represent the largest number of proposed job losses by an elite Russell Group university to date.
The redundancies will affect around seven per cent of the university’s total workforce.
The Welsh institution, which had almost 33,000 students in 2023, will launch a 90-day consultation on proposals that include slashing key courses and merging faculties.
The redundancies would affect around seven per cent of the university’s total workforce
PA
Cardiff University reported an operating deficit of £31.2 million last year and says the changes are needed to ensure its future viability.
Modern languages, nursing, ancient history, music, and religion and theology are among the subjects facing reduction or complete elimination at Cardiff.
The university plans to increase student-to-staff ratios while merging key faculties.
Chemistry, physics and earth sciences disciplines will be combined into a new School of Earth Sciences.
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Several humanities subjects, including English, linguistics, archaeology, philosophy, history and Welsh, are set to be merged into a single School of Global Humanities.
The changes form part of a wider restructuring aimed at addressing the university’s financial challenges.
Prof Wendy Larner, Cardiff’s vice-chancellor, said it was “no longer an option for us to continue as we are”.
“I know that these proposals impact some staff more than others and they will cause a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety for those potentially impacted,” she added.
The vice-chancellor said the university had “done everything that we can to avoid reaching this position”.
Staff were left in tears on Tuesday as they learned that letters about possible redundancies could arrive as soon as Wednesday morning.
The university said it would only make compulsory redundancies “if absolutely necessary”.
Cardiff has pledged that its consultation on the plans will last for 90 days.
Prof Wendy Larner, Cardiff’s vice-chancellor, said it was “no longer an option for us to continue as we are”
Cardiff University
Cardiff University and College Union (UCU) called the cuts “cruel and avoidable” and announced plans to ballot members for strike action.
The union claimed the cuts were unnecessary, noting Cardiff was “sitting on £188 million in cash reserves”.
Dr Joey Whitfield, Cardiff UCU president and staff member in the threatened School of Modern Languages, said: “Like all of our colleagues, I’m absolutely shell shocked.”
“The cuts are cruel and avoidable. They’ll damage our members, our students, the city, and Wales as a whole,” he added.
Speaking about staff reactions, Whitfield said: “Staff were begging the vice-chancellor to tell them how they were supposed to face their students tomorrow and how they’re supposed to go there and teach when literally half of their colleagues could be out of a job.”
The UCU described the proposals as being on “a scale that is unprecedented in UK higher education”.
Cardiff’s cuts come amid wider turmoil in Britain’s university sector, with several other institutions announcing similar measures.
Durham University revealed plans on Tuesday to reduce staff costs by up to £20 million over two years, including around 200 professional services job cuts.
Newcastle University last week announced plans to eliminate approximately 300 full-time positions as it faces a £35 million shortfall.
More than half of all UK universities are currently making redundancies or cutting courses, according to the UCU.
The Office for Students expects 72 per cent of universities in England to fall into deficit this year.
Labour announced plans last November to raise tuition fees from £9,250 to £9,535 from September 2025 – the first increase since 2017.
Labour announced plans last November to raise tuition fees from £9,250 to £9,535
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The rise follows warnings that universities lose around £2,500 per domestic student.
Cardiff blamed its deteriorating finances on “declining international student applications and increasing cost pressures” across the sector.
Gareth Lloyd, a UCU Wales official, called for government intervention in the higher education funding crisis.
“Whilst Cardiff’s senior management have questions to answer, these announcements cannot be removed from the wider context of a higher education funding crisis,” he said.
He urged the Welsh government to support the struggling sector to “avoid a cycle of redundancies and damaging strikes”.
However, Labour has ruled out any central government bailout for universities at risk of collapse.
Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, insisted last year that universities are “businesses” responsible for their own finances.
The Government has promised to reform the student loan system, with plans expected by summer 2025.
