Aberystwyth staff ‘devastated’ by plans to cut 150 jobs

Staff at Aberystwyth University say they are “devastated and angry” after senior leaders announced plans to cut 150 jobs.

The Welsh university said it is looking to save £16 million by the end of 2027-28, in what it described as “a further phase of its restructure of the institution”. Aberystwyth said that cuts were needed to “increase efficiency and meet the needs of students as it achieves financial sustainability”.

The restructure will look at “portfolio and curriculum as well as resourcing”, it added.

But the University and College Union (UCU) branch said that the cuts will fall on teaching and research staff and come on top of 150 jobs lost over the last eighteen months in previous rounds of restructuring, saying staff were “devastated and angry” at the move. 

The branch estimated that the job losses mean “a quarter to a third of our academic staff will not be employed at the university by this time next year”, adding that “they represent a devastating blow to our university, our students and our community”. 

Before the most recent jobs losses, Aberystwyth shed more than 450 positions, including 200 non-academic and 250 academic between 2014-2025, the UCU branch added.

In a statement UCU said that staff are “shocked by the scale and speed of what is being proposed”, noting that the cuts will put pressure on remaining staff. “Every year we are asked to do more with less. Those of us who will be left will no doubt work harder than ever to teach, research, shape and support the lives of young people from Wales and those far beyond it.”

The union said: “This announcement cannot be allowed to pass as ‘just another round of cuts’. Once jobs, expertise and subject areas are hollowed out, they are extraordinarily difficult to rebuild.

“The Welsh Government must act immediately to prevent further damage and help save jobs. Delay will only make the consequences more severe for our university, our community and the future of mid Wales.”

Vice-chancellor of Aberystwyth, Jon Timmis, said that it was “a necessity to adapt” amid “unprecedented challenges”. 

“At Aberystwyth, we are focussed on maintaining our excellent student experience, while at the same time facing up to the fact that government regulated tuition fees now lag significantly behind the costs universities are paying to teach students.”

He said recent changes in UK visa and immigration metrics have “significantly impacted universities’ ability to recruit international students, and consequently made domestic recruitment more competitive”.

 “Adapting universities to be financially sustainable cannot be achieved without some very difficult decisions. We will need to work through those tough choices as we proceed to restructure our university.

“Once restructured, we will employ fewer staff, which will help to ensure future sustainability of the university. These financial challenges are something the whole university sector is grappling with, and we must act to secure a prosperous future for our university and its wider community in our wonderful part of mid-Wales,” Timmis said.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com