University of Nottingham puts 2,700 staff at risk as deep financial cuts threaten 600 jobs

12 May 2026 , 21:03

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Thousands of staff at the University of Nottingham have been informed to prepare for redundancy as part of extensive financial cuts that academics warn will damage the institution’s future.

The university’s administration sent letters to 2,700 staff on Tuesday, alerting them that their roles were at risk of redundancy after its leadership indicated it might run out of money by 2031.

The redundancies are the latest indication of the financial pressure and decline in international student numbers affecting even prestigious institutions such as Nottingham, a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities.

The university plans to eliminate more than 600 academic and support roles through a mix of voluntary and compulsory redundancies in subjects and departments with low staff-to-student ratios, including physics, medicine, and health sciences.

The University and College Union (UCU) opposes the cuts, arguing that Nottingham’s £85m budget deficit last year resulted from a poorly advised expansion campus known as Castle Meadow, which is now being written off, along with one-time costs from the previous round of redundancies in which 350 jobs were lost.

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Andreas Bieler, a professor of political economy and the UCU branch vice-president, said: “We would argue that there are a lot of self-inflicted problems, including the Castle Meadow campus, and also their financial strategy of always converting surpluses directly into investments in new buildings. That has kept the university on the brink, and this is not the first crisis we’ve faced, it’s just the most severe one.”

UCU members have voted no confidence in the vice-chancellor, Prof Jane Norman, and supported a marking boycott that is likely to cause difficulties for the administration in ensuring that students can graduate in the summer.

Bieler said: “Management underestimates what we can do collectively. We have started to prepare for a marking boycott this month, and we have substantial support from members, so we are cautiously optimistic that we can change direction on this level of compulsory redundancies.”

A university spokesperson said: “We know that changes of this scale are challenging, and we do not underestimate what it means for many of our colleagues and students. We will do everything we can to support our people through the coming months.

“But doing nothing is not an option. Like many universities across the UK and globally, we face significant financial challenges, and at Nottingham, we are taking action to shape our future rather than allowing circumstances to shape it for us.

“These are incredibly difficult decisions, and we have not taken them lightly. It is essential that we respond to evolving sector demands to ensure sustainability for future generations and continue to offer world-leading teaching and research and an excellent student experience.”

Lopa Leach, a professor of vascular biology and the UCU branch president, argued that cuts to high-status departments such as chemistry would be self-defeating.

“They don’t seem to understand that these cuts will impact our global reputation, rankings, and recruitment of future students,” she said. “The loss of so many academics and technicians will further hinder our research and teaching, not to mention the distress colleagues are experiencing.”

Nick Clare, an associate professor of geography and one of the staff who received a warning notice, said: “If you cut so many, there’s no room for growth. You’ve made savings, but how can you increase revenue?

“But they seem determined to make deep cuts, so many people so quickly, that we will have a radically reshaped university that can’t then deliver what it should or respond to changing demand.”