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The news that Bournemouth University is bucking the trend of shedding staff ("What downturn? We're growing", 1 October) will come as something of a surprise to dozens of staff who have been "encouraged" to take voluntary severance under the threat of redundancy over the past two years.

It will come as even more of a surprise to five staff in the School of Conservation Sciences who are currently under threat of compulsory redundancy. Such sanguine reporting of this programme of "reprofiling", which has resulted in misery and anxiety for many loyal and hard-working members of staff, is regarded by many here as an insult.

Paul Freedman, University and College Union branch secretary, Bournemouth University.