UNIVERSITY TELLS STAFF OF JOB LOSSES

NUMBERS NOT SPECIFIED, BUT HOPE ALL WILL BE VOLUNTARY

JOBS are to be lost at Loughborough University in response to budget pressures.

Chief operating officer Richard Taylor sent a letter to all staff on Friday stating it was hoped the cuts could be limited to voluntary redundancies.

The letter said the university would announce a “discretionary severance scheme” in the near future and it would make “every effort to avoid compulsory redundancies”.

No details about how much money needs to be saved were included or how many posts would have to go.

A spokesman confirmed the letter had been sent out to all staff and said the university had nothing further to add.

Loughborough halted lessons in response to the coronavirus outbreak and recently brought in a recruitment freeze.

The letter said: “Dear colleagues, university senate met yesterday and among other matters, discussed the university’s financial position – both the immediate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and longer-term challenges in higher education funding.

“We wanted you to hear directly from us about those discussions rather than through rumour or second-hand.

“In short, and many of you have heard us describe this previously, our core income lines are projected to be flat (most importantly undergraduate tuition fees which are fixed at £9,250), while our core costs (most importantly salaries and pension costs) will increase over the next planning period, as they do year on year.

“This leaves the university with a structural financial deficit unless changes are made. Cost reductions will be necessary.

“Staffing costs form the biggest single item of expenditure and any attempt to adjust expenditure inevitably will mean we must consider ways of reducing these from projected levels.

“We have started to look at ways we can do this, consulting regularly with union colleagues. As you may know, recruitment to new posts is frozen.

“Services have been asked to identify work that could be de-prioritised or stopped to save resources. Costs, such as capital expenditure, are also being significantly constrained.

“We will shortly propose a discretionary severance scheme that some colleagues will be able to take advantage of.

“We hope that we will be able to achieve the required cost reduction through these measures, and will be making every effort to avoid compulsory redundancies.

“There is no need for you to take action now. We do not wish to underplay this challenge but would say that the university remains in a good position relative to other institutions.

“By taking what are modest, albeit difficult actions at this stage, we can establish a firm footing to continue success in the future.

“Should you have any questions, please speak with your dean, operations manager or professional services director in the first instance.”