Hundreds more jobs are planned to be cut at another Welsh University the day after £19m of extra funding was handed to institutions by the Welsh Government. Bangor University said it needs to shed 200 jobs to save £15m and cannot rule out compulsory redundancies. The planned cuts represent around 10% of the university's 2,000-strong workforce.

Laying out the grim news in a letter to staff on Wednesday vice-chancellor Edmund Burke said the university's finances have "weakened further" with matters made worse by falling applications. The letter, seen by WalesOnline, says the recently-passed Ucas deadline shows a "further fall" in all student numbers with higher-paying international student numbers halved.

As a result the university-wide voluntary severance scheme is being extended until the end of March and a staff meeting is being held to update employees. Mr Burke says in the light of falling student intakes the university needs to cut staffing levels in particular schools but he does not say which. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here.

"In autumn 2024 our student intakes were smaller than in 2023, falling short of our budget target. Our home undergraduate intake was 7% smaller and, without medicine, was down 11%. Our international intake was also smaller with our September international postgraduate intake around half the size of the 2023 intake.

"As we have passed the Ucas application deadline we can see that a further fall in student intake is likely in 2025 with applications 2% lower than 2024 or 6% lower if we exclude medicine. Heads of colleges will communicate separately where we are seeking significant reductions so that colleagues are able to consider the option of voluntary severance with knowledge of the position in their areas. In professional services we are seeking savings in all teams," the letter says.

The university, which has 10,000 students, is also trying to save cash by selling buildings and closing some at specific times to save on energy bills. The news from Bangor comes as the sector across the UK and Wales is struggling. Cardiff University is consulting on proposals to cut 400 academic posts and shut entire schools including nursing. The University of Wales is expected to announce cuts imminently and there are combined Wales-wide deficits of at least £70m. Universities say they are under pressure from inflation, static home tuition fees, national insurance payments, and a fall in the number of higher-paying international students.

Responding to potential job cuts in both Bangor University and the University of South Wales Plaid Cymru spokesman for education Cefin Campbell MS said: “This is yet another blow to the higher education sector in Wales and the communities they support.. We cannot overestimate the severity of the situation facing Welsh universities – and yet this Labour Welsh Government continues to turn a blind eye, offering no real solutions. Now more than ever we need real leadership to save the higher education sector and defend Wales’ status as a nation of learning and for staff and students across Wales who will be rightly anxious, wondering if their jobs and courses are on the line. I would reiterate today Plaid Cymru’s invitation to Welsh Government for a cross-party review into universities’ funding so that we can all work together as a Senedd to put our universities on a sustainable footing for the future.”

The full text of the letter to Bangor University staff:

Dear colleagues,

I am writing to update you on the significant financial challenges that we are facing. I want to present this information to you before the open meeting today so that you have the required information to hand to inform our conversation. I am sure you will have seen in the media that the whole university sector is facing unprecedented financial challenges and many universities are in the process of delivering cost savings.

The five key elements impacting the sector are:

· Home undergraduate fees in Wales have been fixed at £9,000 since 2012-13. While we can increase our fees for incoming students to £9,535 from 2025-26 onwards there is no agreement for future inflation adjustment to the amount of money we receive per student.

· UK universities have been increasingly reliant on international income to make up for the shortfall from home fees not increasing by inflation. The UK Government’s action to reduce the level of immigration has led to a fall in international students coming to study in the UK. The new Westminster government does not seem to be planning to reverse the changes made by the previous government.

· Cost increases have been significant over recent years particularly in utility bills and pay awards. However home fees have not kept pace with inflation which has risen by nearly 40% since 2012, intensifying the financial strain that the sector faces.

· The changes to national insurance have increased our operating costs. For us this will add £1.8m to our costs from April 2025 onwards, which is higher than the impact of the recent fee increase.

· There is a change of behaviour within the sector. Some high-tariff universities appear to have responded to the fall in international student intakes by reducing their entry grades and taking more home students. This has reduced the size of the pool of students coming to other universities.

These sector level challenges are very significant for us. In autumn 2024 our student intakes were smaller than in 2023, falling short of our budget target. Our home undergraduate intake was 7% smaller and without medicine, was down 11%. Our international intake was also smaller with our September international postgraduate intake around half the size of the 2023 intake.

As we have passed the UCAS application deadline we can see that a further fall in student intake is likely in 2025 with applications 2% lower than 2024 or 6% lower if we exclude medicine.

As a result our financial position has weakened further. It is essential that we take more action to bring our costs into line with the reduced income that we anticipate for the years ahead. While we have limited cash reserves it is essential to act now to avoid these falling to unsustainable levels.

The Executive Board has been evaluating the response to this challenge and our proposals were agreed at a meeting of council on Monday.

The actions we are taking are:

· We have to target savings of £15m. We anticipate that this will require a reduction of around 200 posts.

· We are extending the university-wide voluntary severance scheme until the end of March on the same basis as previously offered. Colleagues can apply for voluntary severance which gives an enhanced payment from the university. While not all applications can be approved we will try to achieve a saving so that colleagues can leave the university if they wish. The university’s council has acknowledged that the use of compulsory redundancies may be necessary if we cannot achieve the savings through voluntary severance. We will try to avoid the use of compulsory redundancies but we must achieve our savings target so that we rebuild our financial sustainability.

· In the light of falling student intakes we need to reduce staffing levels in particular schools and heads of colleges will communicate separately where we are seeking significant reductions so that colleagues are able to consider the option of voluntary severance with knowledge of the position in their areas. In professional services we are seeking savings in all teams.

· Maintaining the additional controls on non-pay expenditure to ensure that only the most essential spending will continue this year and next year. Spending on research grants and contracts will continue as normal and as previously planned.

· We are reducing the size of the estate that we use. We have already reduced the opening and heating hours of some buildings and our colleagues have moved out of others so they are no longer used. We have begun the process to sell some properties that we no longer need.

· Our close control of any vacant posts will continue.

I understand that these necessary actions may cause concern and I want to reassure you that I remain confident in our ability to overcome the challenges we face.

Our recent announcement of the funding into our business school shows the confidence that we and others have in our future success. The university is also seeking further external funding to ensure the project’s successful delivery. This investment will help us overcome the challenges we face. There is a strong business case for the new business school and without the planned investment we would need to target larger savings.

While we must make some difficult decisions I believe that by successfully implementing our plans we will restore the university to a stable and sustainable position.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Edmund Burke

Vice-chancellor

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