The University of Sussex has announced plans to cut up to 200 jobs in Brighton as part of a restructuring aimed at saving £35 million annually. A formal 45-day consultation begins this week, covering roles in admissions, student support, and information technology (IT) services.
This follows two voluntary redundancy schemes over the past year, which already reduced staff numbers by 528 employees. Trade union Unison has criticised the new proposals, warning that further cuts will increase workloads and create more stress for those who remain. The union argues that universities cannot achieve stability by reducing staff while expecting employees and students to absorb the impact.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Sasha Roseneil explained that the university is facing a financial sustainability crisis affecting the wider UK higher education sector. She cited long-term underfunding of teaching and research, inflationary pressures, and a sharp decline in international student enrolments due to government policy changes.
The university has already taken steps to reduce spending, including non-pay savings, vacancy management, and cutting its capital programme. Despite these measures, management says further savings are necessary to secure long-term stability and deliver on its strategic plan, ‘Sussex 2035’.
Staff will first be offered voluntary redundancy, but compulsory redundancies may follow if not enough employees opt to leave. Unison’s South East regional secretary Jo Galloway said the proposals will cause significant anxiety across the sector and pledged to fight to protect jobs.