Dundee University guilty of 'vandalism' as cuts to be 'worse than expected'

Dundee University has been accused of “academic and economic vandalism” after it revealed that 700 people are likely to be impacted by job cuts.

The University revealed earlier this year that it is facing a £35m shortfall and planned to cut 632 “full-time equivalent” jobs across all departments.

In a letter to Holyrood’s Education Committee on Monday, university bosses revealed that these cuts would likely impact around 700 individuals.

“We cannot confirm the headcount impact of the 632 full-time equivalent [cuts] because we do not know which individuals will be selected from redundancy pools, but we estimate that around 700 individuals would be impacted,” interim principal Professor Shane O’Neill wrote.

In response, the University and College Union (UCU) urged Dundee to reconsider these cuts.

“Sacking over 700 staff at Dundee University is tantamount to academic and economic vandalism,” Mary Senior, Scotland official for the UCU said on Tuesday.

“This level of job cuts would be catastrophic for the city of Dundee and the surrounding area. We cannot let this destruction go ahead.”

In recent weeks, the Scottish Funding Council approved £22m of emergency funding for the institution, as well as launching an external investigation into how the situation materialised.

Ms Senior said the support should be used as “a start to prevent these cuts”.

“We need to do better, to support students, education and jobs in the city,” she added.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady agreed that the cuts planned the university will have a “devastating” impact on the university’s future, the city, and the local economy.

“University senior managers need to listen to what staff are telling them: rule out compulsory redundancies and engage with the union to find a better way forward that avoids irreparable damage before it is too late,” Ms Grady said.

Scottish Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs said: “The growing number of job losses at Dundee University is an absolute hammer blow for staff who were still reeling from the initial level of cuts announced.”

A spokesperson for Dundee University said the £22m funding government package for the institution is “vital liquidity support”, but won’t address the structural deficit.

“We are currently using the time and space that this support allows us to negotiate with key stakeholders to put in place the measures necessary to enact a full recovery plan,” the spokesperson said.

“This is highly complex work and we will continue to work at pace with our partners to find the best route forward possible for the University and its staff and students.”

The university also emphasised that they have not changed or added to the number of job reductions. The latest estimates have simply revealed the human impact of the 632 full-time equivalent job cuts.