The University of Greenwich is facing a backlash after a union accused it of planning to cut more than 300 jobs, equivalent to a quarter of its total academic workforce.

All of the university¡¯s 151 hourly paid lecturers in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences are set to go under the plans, according to the University and College Union (UCU), as well as 45 lecturers in Greenwich¡¯s business school.

They are set to be replaced by a pool of 50 part-time workers, according to the union, equating to just 17 full-time members of staff.?

UCU further said that the university intends to create ¡°a bank of academics on zero-hour contracts¡±, leaving workers with no statutory rights to redundancy pay, parental leave or protection against unfair dismissal. In total 319 staff are expected to go by August, with engineering posts also affected.

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The university stressed that?many of the staff affected work a relatively small number of hours per year, with the employment of some equating to just a few guest lectures and therefore focusing on the overall head count was?¡°misleading¡±.

¡°In addition, we are planning on moving to increase the number of more secure permanent posts which will be offered to our current hourly paid lecturers and which we believe is to everyone¡¯s benefit. We are also increasing staffing in areas where we have growth to ensure our staffing numbers reflect our students¡¯ needs¡±, a spokesperson said.?

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Greenwich is the?latest provider to announce staff cuts, as a financial crisis fuelled by rising costs, frozen fees and declining enrolments continues to bite. UCU?has estimated that the number of job cuts could hit 10,000 by the end of the year.?

Newcastle and Keele universities and the University of Plymouth?have all announced redundancy programmes this week. Meanwhile, Cardiff University has scaled back its own redundancy plans following a consultation with staff.

Jo Grady, general secretary of UCU, said ¡°there is no financial justification¡± for the cuts at Greenwich,?adding that ¡°courses will be stripped of their academic value¡±.

The?institution made a in the 2023-24 academic year, and UCU highlighted that it has "hundreds of millions of pounds in its reserves".?

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¡°Students are having their fees hiked, yet the University of Greenwich wants to sack hundreds of their teachers and instead?bring in a pool of zero-hour academics, all while the vice-chancellor's pay continues to soar,¡± said Grady.

¡°These are the actions of the very worst type of rogue employer, not a public institution of Greenwich¡¯s standing. It must think again.¡±

The Greenwich spokesperson added:?¡°Like many universities across the UK, the University of Greenwich is facing significant financial challenges outside of our control. These challenges affect the amount of cash we hold, which is what we use to pay our staff and our bills.??

¡°We are therefore proposing organisational changes that will ensure the long-term sustainability of our university and protect jobs further down the line. We are currently consulting on these changes. No final decisions have been taken.¡±

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com