450 staff to be made redundant at Ulster University

Ulster University has more than 30,000 students and employs 3,100 staff. Picture: PA

The biggest university in the North is set to make around 450 staff redundant.

Ulster University, which has more than 30,000 students, employs 3,100 staff across its campuses in Belfast, Jordanstown, Coleraine, and Derry.

On Wednesday, staff were briefed virtually about the proposed job cuts by vice-chancellor Paul Bartholomew. It is understood the scheme is currently voluntary.

A university spokesperson said: “Redundancies across the higher education sector have become unavoidable.

“To date, more than 100 institutions across the UK have downsized their staffing complement.

“Ulster University has sought to hold off on making redundancies while continuing to work with the Department for the Economy, through their reviews, on possible changes to the HE (higher education) funding model in Northern Ireland.

“It has recently been made clear to us that a sustainable funding model is not going to be forthcoming, and regretfully we must now act to reduce our costs.” 

In May last year, Ulster joined regional counterparts Queen’s University Belfast and the Open University in Ireland warning Stormont’s economy minister Caoimhe Archibald that her decision not to raise tuition fees above the rate of inflation would have a “seriously detrimental impact on higher education”.

The universities warned there was a funding crisis in the sector and said current arrangements were “not sustainable”. Ms Archibald did not approve a cap increase beyond the annual inflationary adjustment.

DUP MLA Phillip Brett said the Sinn Féin minister had “failed to bring forward a credible plan to support higher education, leaving institutions like Ulster University facing impossible financial pressures”.

“Today’s announcement shows the scale of this failure. Behind every one of these potential job losses is a family facing uncertainty and a student experience that will inevitably be impacted,” he said.

“This is not just a financial issue; it is a failure of leadership. Promises around expansion, including at Magee, now ring hollow when basic funding cannot be secured to sustain existing provision.” 

He said: “The Department for the Economy cannot continue to drift while our universities are pushed to the brink.

“Urgent, decisive intervention is needed now to protect jobs, safeguard students, and secure the future of higher education in Northern Ireland.”