The University of Sunderland has put one in 10 of its academics at risk of redundancy, the second time in the past six months that the institution has made cutbacks.

Plans that could see a further 76 members of staff depart the North East university have been strongly opposed by the University and College Union (UCU), which has threatened strike action.

Sixty of the 76 posts at risk are academics, out of a total of 549 employed by the university, with the rest of the roles in professional services. The union claimed that staff could be made redundant as soon as 1 November.

UCU regional support official Jon Bryan said that the academic year has only just begun, but staff “could be made redundant before Christmas”. 

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“Cuts of this scale would severely damage student learning and harm the university’s standing. We will now seek our members’ views on how we fight back against these cuts, and the university could face a strike ballot unless it changes course and works with us to protect jobs,” he said.

Sunderland last made cuts to its staff less than six months ago and has also controversially decided to shut its National Glass Centre building, with its well-regarded glass and ceramics programmes closing as a result. A report had found that the facility required multimillion-pound repairs and estimated relocation costs totalling around £9.4 million.

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More than half of the UK’s universities have enacted restructuring programmes over the past year, according to a UCU tally, with the ongoing tuition fee freeze, falling recruitment and rising costs causing financial turmoil across the sector. 

A spokesperson for Sunderland said the sector was facing “well-documented” funding challenges, which meant that “many” universities had been forced to make difficult decisions.

“Unfortunately, the University of Sunderland is not immune to these challenges. Since the start of the year, we have been critically assessing our expenditure to ensure we’re operating as efficiently as possible, while still maintaining an excellent student experience,” they said. 

“Although we have done everything possible to mitigate job losses, a number of roles are impacted. We’re working closely with those affected to support them through the process.”

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com