Cardiff University has unveiled further significant changes, offering voluntary redundancy to non-academic staff. This follows a series of harsh cuts and job losses among academic staff as the university contends with a £30m deficit.
The university's chief operating officer, Dr Paula Sanderson, has penned a letter to all affected staff, as well as the wider staff body, outlining the proposed changes and the consultation process. Four areas of professional services will be impacted.
A spokesperson for the university stated that the restructuring of non-academic staff would not result in compulsory redundancies, although voluntary severance was available and a formal consultation has been initiated due to changes in roles and teams.
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Academic cuts at Cardiff University were finally ratified by its governing council in June following six months of disputes, protests, public backlash and job losses.
Non-academic staff affected are being summoned to meetings today to discuss the changes and consultation process, reports Wales Online.
These changes come on the heels of controversial widespread cuts, department closures and job losses among academic staff as the university grapples with escalating costs. To stay updated on the most pressing issues facing the nation, sign up for our free daily briefing via the Wales Matters newsletter here.
The university's council endorsed the earlier "painful but necessary" strategy for academic personnel which resulted in department closures and job losses to secure £22m in annual savings.
However, it cautioned at the time that this measure would still fail to bridge the financial deficit confronting the institution.
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The university maintained today that the proposed alterations for non-academic personnel were not a cost-reduction initiative and positions existed for all staff within the suggested new framework, with no enforced redundancies anticipated amongst this cohort.
Nevertheless, certain roles would require modification, it acknowledged, and those unwilling to stay could seek voluntary redundancy.
Dr Sanderson informed staff: "I understand that some of our professional services colleagues may decide they do not wish to continue the journey with us, and we are opening a voluntary redundancy scheme to eligible colleagues.
"The scheme provides the same terms offered to academic colleagues during the collective consultation for Our Academic Future, and we aim to notify staff who apply for this scheme of the outcome no later than 19 December. ".
A Cardiff University spokesperson commented: "We have today (Thursday 6th November) announced a consultation on proposed new structures for Professional Services (PS) staff working in our Colleges and Schools, Education and Student Experience (ESE) Services, Postgraduate Research and Graduate School support and Hybiau.
"It is important to stress that these proposals are not driven by cost-cutting. There are roles for everyone in the new proposed structures and no compulsory redundancies are planned. Many of our staff will see no significant change. However, some posts will need to change and teams will need to adapt.
"Because of this, we are following a formal consultation process to ensure that our employees' rights are protected and everyone has a voice throughout the consultation period. In the event that a post changes, support and training will be provided as part of the consultation and implementation process."
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The consultation period will continue until February 2026, with trade unions participating throughout.
The University Council's June decision means that under the academic reductions, the departments of ancient history, religion and theology will close, whilst nursing, modern languages and music will continue but with reduced capacity.
There will also be increased student to staff ratios.
As the current term commenced, almost 200 Cardiff University academic personnel remained at risk of redundancy - months following the substantial cost-reduction initiative which has already eliminated 170 full-time positions and received formal approval.
The 187 affected academic employees across the schools of foreign languages, history, religion and music have been informed that the university cannot exclude the possibility of compulsory redundancy.