Up to 700 jobs could be at risk at the University of York, disrupting teaching and damaging staff morale.
The University and College Union says the university is looking to save another £34 million, on top of £30 million already cut in the last two years.
And it has criticised York University for an “appalling” Voluntary Severance Scheme which they say is pressuring staff to leave with threats of “higher workloads, constant change and uncertainty”.
In a statement, the York branch of the UCU says: “Having queried if there is a target number for VS losses, we have been told ‘no there isn’t’, but fairly simple mathematics confirms that somewhere between 300 and 700 staff would have to leave if the aimed for savings are to be achieved.
“As it stands, the majority of staff who leave through VS will do so on the 31st of October. That is, mid-semester one, in the middle of teaching and at a time that will inevitably cause disruption to staff and students and affect the university’s ability to deliver contracted teaching to students.
“Losing so many staff at once will inevitably result in higher workloads and considerable risk to the health and wellbeing of the staff who remain. It will inevitably result in a diminished teaching and learning environment for students, and it will damage our community.”
The union has even created its own protest song in response to the planned cuts, based on the Pink Floyd number one, Another Brick In The Wall.
The UCU says it is not against voluntary severance as a way to reduce the staff budget. “What we object to in the case of VS is how it is being done and the lack of meaningful consultation with staff representatives.
“There is a clear and articulated attempt to make the future look as bleak as possible so as many people as possible will leave.”
The UCU also claims that the university’s plans “assumed endless numbers of international students would come along and bankroll their ambition for expansion”.
“This year they predicted that 4,000 international students would study at York,” the statement says, a forecast that many staff thought was “madness”.
As a result, “they have a black hole in their finances”.
It is urging the University Executive Board, led by the Vice Chancellor, to hold a meaningful consultation about the plans, and negotiate a way forward.
And the union directly addresses students, saying: “We think you should be part of resisting these potentially disastrous changes. Sadly, if these changes go ahead, your degrees will have less worth and the reputation of our university will be greatly diminished.”
What the university says
A University of York told YorkMix: “Like many others in the sector, we continue to face increasing costs and York has moved quickly to manage its finances and put in place a series of measures to return to a surplus, including a voluntary severance scheme, significantly reducing our operating costs and pausing major capital programmes.
“York is one of only four universities to have won the top Gold Teaching Excellence Framework award and be in the top ten in the Research Excellence Framework, matched only by Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial.
“To protect our position as one of the UK’s top performing universities we need to work differently, focusing time and effort on the highest level research outcomes and the work that brings the most benefit for students.
“We appreciate this may be an unsettling time for some colleagues and we are doing all we can to protect jobs while ensuring our resilience against continuing volatility.”
According to the university, UK universities as a whole now lose £1 billion each year on teaching domestic students and £5 billion on undertaking research.