University of Sheffield staff balloted on strike action as hundreds of job losses possible
A strike ballot opened up to staff who are members of the UCU this morning
Last updated 24th Feb 2025
Staff at the University of Sheffield are voting on whether they back strike action, amid the threat of possible job losses.
UCU members are able to vote in the ballot, which opened this morning, as the union claims as many as 1,000 staff are at risk of being made redundant.
The union wants university bosses to rule out make compulsory cuts to staff, as Sheffield tries to shave £23m from its staffing budget.
The UCU claims this would mean at least 400 staff going, however up to 1,000 could be impacted by a restructure of schools within the university.
Over 100 staff have been placed at risk by changes to English language teaching.
UCU Sheffield branch president Robyn Orfitelli said: "Since Koen Lamberts took up his post as vice-chancellor in 2018, he has introduced an unprecedented amount of disruptive and damaging restructures at the university, with at least 25 formal change management processes in a six year period, impacting hundreds of staff."
"However, that is nothing compared to the speed of change he is overseeing right now. In just one academic year, we estimate he is placing as many or more staff at risk of losing their jobs than in the entire rest of his tenure.
"That is unacceptable, and the leadership of this university needs to hold itself accountable for what it is doing to staff, students, and the future of this institution."
The University of Sheffield disputes that 1,000 jobs are at risk, with a spokesperson saying cuts are expected to be 'significantly' smaller.
Education chiefs also say a voluntary redundancy scheme has made 'considerable strides' towards avoiding the need for compulsory job losses.
A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield, said: “Like many UK universities, a decrease in international students has affected our income."
"We have been keeping colleagues and our campus trade unions informed and updated about the financial position and the range of targeted actions we are taking. These include reviewing infrastructure projects and reducing spending, alongside carefully managing staff vacancies and offering a voluntary severance scheme to staff to help avoid the need for compulsory redundancies.
"We are firmly committed to supporting our colleagues and continuing to work constructively with our trade unions, whilst protecting our excellent research, teaching and student experience.”