Canterbury Christ Church University has said that it cannot rule out making compulsory redundancies as it seeks to make ¡°pre-emptive¡± savings of about ?20 million.

The institution confirmed that staffing cuts were expected to account for approximately 80 per cent of the planned savings, with an ¡°enhanced early exit scheme¡± for staff looking to leave their posts during this academic year.

The University and College Union said that it had seen communications indicating that managers were looking to cut the equivalent of about 400 full-time posts, targeting both academics and professional services staff, although the university said that this number was inaccurate.

The institution said its action was ¡°pre-emptive¡± and confirmed it had achieved a budget surplus in recent years, including a ?3.7 million surplus in its?.

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¡°We believe this bold pre-emptive action is required to ensure we continue to maintain an academically successful and financially sustainable university into the future,¡± a Canterbury Christ Church spokesperson said.

Scores of UK universities have announced plans to cut jobs and restructure departments as domestic student funding and international student recruitment struggle to keep up with inflation and staff cost pressures.

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The Canterbury Christ Church spokesperson said that ¡°no organisation can ever provide a complete guarantee that there will be no compulsory redundancies¡± but added it ¡°will always seek to minimise¡± such action.

¡°Rather than having to make multiple significant changes year-on-year, we hope to make the changes required in one coordinated programme to minimise the ongoing, residual impact on our students and staff, whilst also radically reshaping and improving the services and academic experience on offer,¡± they said.

However, the local UCU branch has entered into a formal dispute with the university, warning that industrial action would be considered as a ¡°last resort¡±.

A branch spokesperson described the cuts as ¡°extraordinary¡±, considering the university¡¯s budget surplus, adding that ¡°financially, Christ Church is in a different position to some other universities¡±.

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¡°What we would argue as a union is that they¡¯re moving far too fast, and they¡¯re cutting far too deep, and what they¡¯ve done is they¡¯ve announced job losses without really any proper vision or road map for what it looks like afterwards.¡±

The latest cuts come after 60 members of staff left the university last year through a voluntary redundancy scheme.?They also follow?redundancies made at the nearby University of Kent, which announced last year that it was closing philosophy and other humanities courses.

The UCU spokesperson added: ¡°This is going to have really big consequences, not just for the future of the university but also for Canterbury city, which is very much largely a university city where the universities between them are the region¡¯s biggest employers. It¡¯s very worrying times.¡±

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com