Sunderland College, Hartlepool Sixth Form and Northumberland College are threatening to sack up to 19 staff before Christmas.
Most of the staff set to be sacked are academic mentors who earn just £20k per year supporting, motivating and guiding hundreds of students at the colleges to reach their full potential.
The colleges are run by Education Partnership North East, which will bank £280k by making the cuts. The employer is in surplus, has over £23m of reserves, and as part of this restructure is increasing the marketing budget and the number of marketing staff. It claims to be "passionate about positively contributing to the social, economic and educational outcomes" of the local area.
