‘Covid-scale’ job cuts engulf Australian universities

Australian universities are bracing for Covid-scale job losses, as soaring costs and plunging earnings trigger a wave of restructures up and down the eastern seaboard.

“Workforce change” processes under way at seven institutions are likely to claim well over 1,200 jobs, with more campuses expected to follow suit. The cuts come after a sector still reeling from Covid-19 incurred a federal government crackdown on international education, which universities claim has cost them billions of dollars.

“We are going into Covid 2.0,” said Zac Ashkanasy, head of higher education with the Nous Group of consultants. “It will have significant ramifications for Australian universities over at least the next five years.”

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) was expected to unveil cost-cutting measures in the coming week, saying it needs to reduce spending by A$100 million (£51 million) a year from 2026.

“We will be discussing this with staff,” a spokeswoman said. “[We] aim to take the necessary time to design a robust future operating model. International student caps have had a significant impact.”  

Griffith University was due to advise staff of savings proposals, including up to 49 redundancies, in a meeting scheduled for 28 October. A spokesman said increasing costs, flagging domestic demand and international student policies had inflicted “significant” financial losses.

“Since the end of last year, we have put a range of expenditure controls in place to manage the income shortfall,” he said. “[They] are working well but not all are sustainable.”

The meetings at UTS and Griffith follow recent announcements of proposals to cut about 350 jobs at the University of Canberra and the Australian National University (ANU). The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) expects a further 500 job losses at ANU next year.

Meanwhile, the University of Wollongong has opened staff consultations on proposals likely to claim between 200 and 300 jobs, according to the ABC. Interim vice-chancellor John Dewar said federal government policy changes had cost the institution A$35 million this year with a “larger impact” expected in 2025.

“We are facing significant financial challenges and a period of unprecedented government reform,” Professor Dewar said. “We must stop activities that are unviable and significantly reduce our expenditure overall.”

He said the university would identify areas of teaching and research where current staff levels could no longer be justified. “We must make tough choices now to set the university up for a brighter future.”

Proposed restructures at James Cook University would remove a net 67 positions from the professional and technical services, marketing and admissions divisions. Planned changes at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) would claim at least 20 jobs. “Decisions have not been made on specific staff numbers,” a USQ spokesman said.

“Financial pressures, primarily driven by rising costs and government policies – including restrictions on international student numbers – are affecting the higher education sector. We have to reduce our costs accordingly.”

All areas of USQ operations are under review, dozens of student support positions will be scrapped and another 26 staff have been offered early retirement, according to the Toowoomba Chronicle. The NTEU expects “upwards of 50” job losses.

Branch president Andrea Lamont-Mills said staff wanted more transparency. “Our members are beside themselves. They’re not sleeping.

“One member said, ‘You know you’re going to be hit by the car. You just don’t know if you’re going to be hit front on…or from the back.’ They would rather be hit from the front than just keep wondering, ‘When are you getting that email?’”

Swinburne University of Technology has also unveiled a voluntary early retirement programme featuring a six-month cash incentive for permanent and fixed-term staff aged over 54 with at least five years’ continuous service behind them. The NTEU estimates that 470 employees could be eligible.

A spokeswoman said the programme was “completely voluntary” and had been offered to a “select group” on staff’s request. It will help ensure “Swinburne’s financial resilience” amid a sector-wide downturn in international student numbers, she added.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com