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Lancaster University to cut one in five academic jobs

<ÍøÆØÃÅ class="standfirst">Institution says it is ¡®not immune¡¯ to financial challenges as it looks to axe 400 jobs
June 20, 2025
Lancaster University
Source: iStock/Peter Shaw

Lancaster University has become the latest UK institution to announce large-scale cuts as it looks to save ?30 million.

The university has informed staff of plans to cut 400 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions by July 2026,?with?academics the first to go.

This will include more than 212 FTE academics, equating to almost one in five of the academic workforce, according to the University and College Union (UCU).?

Lancaster said it ¡°can¡¯t rule out the possibility of compulsory redundancies as a last resort¡± as the union branch plans a meeting next week to decide on a response to the cuts.

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The union added that the university is looking to cut more than ?35 million per annum from its annual expenditure by 2026-27, leaving every department at risk and ¡°no part of the university unaffected¡±.

A university spokesperson said Lancaster is ¡°not immune¡± to sector-wide financial pressures, including increased operating costs and declining international student numbers, but added that it will not be looking to close academic departments.?

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¡°We have achieved significant savings on non-payroll and through a voluntary severance scheme this year but unfortunately our financial projections show that payroll savings of about ?30 million are required over the next academic year to ensure our ongoing financial sustainability,¡± they said.

However, they continued, ¡°We are in a better financial position than some other universities, which has bought us time to work through strategic options, which will ensure that research and the student experience is prioritised and protected¡±.?

Jo Grady, UCU¡¯s general secretary, said it is ¡°simply impossible for Lancaster to bin such a huge proportion of its workforce and provide the same level of provision to students¡±.?

¡°As well as harming the livelihoods of those staff who are forced out, cuts of this magnitude would have a devastating impact on the staff who stay, students, the local community, and the university¡¯s standing in the academic community. Our members will meet next week, and a strike ballot cannot be ruled out if management refuses to change course.¡±

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It comes as academics raise concerns that widespread?university job cuts have entered a ¡°dangerous new phase¡±, with Liverpool Hope University, Cardiff Metropolitan and Arts University Bournemouth among those pressing ahead with compulsory redundancies.?

At Newcastle University, however, where union members have undertaken prolonged strike action, bosses have now ruled out compulsory redundancies, as well as offering students compensation for missed teaching.?

A university spokesperson said it had?achieved its ?20 million target of salary savings in full "without the need for compulsory redundancies" through a combination?of voluntary severance, redeployments,?and "a range of other mitigating measures"".

"This is an immensely challenging time for universities across the UK, and we are grateful to everyone in our community for their commitment and patience as we navigate towards long term financial sustainability," they added.?

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com

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<ÍøÆØÃÅ class="pane-title"> Reader's comments (4)
Oh dear, not another one! When will this nightmare end?
When the managers who failed are brought to account, as happened at Dundee.
Yep time for a rebellion in the Universities we need to put the academics in charge and start sacking en masse the failed managers and bureaucrats and each one made to explain exactly what they do to justify their existence. If they are useless or no value added (which is at least 50%) then instant dismissal.
new
It goes on and on. One of the upshots of all of this and the sea change in university management style that goes along with it, is that you have ended up with a situation where the 'product' of the organisation - lecturers and students - is now the lowest down in the hierarchy and has almost zero agency any. We are ordered about by those with 'support' in their name, a name that once meant, support us, along with managers who tell us stuff and never ask us anything. And senior management are wondering why they are in trouble. It is like deciding the product your company sells and has built its reputation on and that is its financial foundation, is now irrelevant to the business.
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