The University of Exeter has become the latest Russell Group university to announce major job cuts, insisting it “must” take action to reduce financial pressures.
About 150 academic roles are set to go at the south-west institution, which said it was targeting areas that are “no longer sustainable” or have seen changes in student demand.
The cuts are expected to fall heavily on humanities courses, adding to concerns over the future of subjects such as history and English amid the latest round of job cuts.
A university spokesperson said that it “hopes to achieve these changes through voluntary measures”, and it will “continue working closely with our community and trade unions to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible”.
The University and College Union (UCU) branch said that 500 staff have been informed they are at risk of redundancy. It added that humanities courses have been “disproportionately” targeted, making up 85 per cent of all staff put at risk.
