The University and College Union (UCU) today (Monday) slammed plans by Birkbeck, University of London to sack 140 staff this academic year, including up to a quarter of teaching staff, and up to half of administrative staff.
The university claims it needs to make the cuts to fill a multi-million pound deficit caused by a fall in student numbers. UCU vowed to fight the cuts, which it said are a disaster for students and the university, and is threatening potential industrial action.
Birkbeck emailed all staff this month confirming plans to sack 84 academic and 56 administrative staff by July 2023. The cuts would see up to 11 staff in the department of English, theatre and creative writing be axed alongside up to 10 in geography; up to seven in politics; up to seven in film, media and cultural studies; up to six in philosophy; and up to six in language, cultures and applied linguistics.
