Ulster University, the largest in Northern Ireland (NI) and a registered charity, is proposing to make 450 employees redundant in an effort to reduce its costs.
A spokesperson for Ulster University, which has campuses in Belfast, Coleraine and Derry, told Civil Society that the proposed scheme is voluntary, adding that the charity has around 3,100 staff overall.
“Redundancies across the higher education (HE) sector have become unavoidable,” they said.
“To date, more than 100 institutions across the UK have downsized their staffing complement.
“Ulster University has sought to hold off on making redundancies while continuing to work with the Department for the Economy, through their reviews, on possible changes to the HE funding model in NI.
“It’s recently been made clear to us that a sustainable funding model isn’t going to be forthcoming, and regretfully, we must now act to reduce our costs.”
Rising staff costs
Accounts for the year ending 31 July 2025 show that Ulster University’s total income grew by £11m to £304m year-on-year, while its expenditure increased by £100m to £320m.
In 2024-25, the charity employed an average of 2,799 full-time equivalent people and incurred £174m in staff costs.
The accounts attribute the charity’s operating deficit to rising “staff costs and expenses against an almost static position for tuition fees and recurrent funding body grant”.
“The financial results for 2024-25 reflect the challenges facing the higher education sector across the UK as a result of a range of factors,” the report reads.
“The sector has experienced a significant downturn in international student recruitment due to changes in visa regulations and increased cost of employers national insurance contributions introduced during the year.
“In addition, there’s been no increase in per student funding to NI higher education institutions from NI executive for undergraduate home students.”
NI executive ‘not being funded to their level of need’
Speaking in the NI assembly yesterday, Social Democratic and Labour Party politician Sinéad McLaughlin said the proposed job losses include 221 in Belfast, 114 in Coleraine, 108 at Magee and seven in Jordanstown.
McLaughlin asked NI’s economy minister to explain the losses, “given the fact that her department’s recent financial needs assessment stated that the university isn’t facing an imminent financial crisis”.
In response, Caoimhe Archibald said she was “working to secure a budget settlement that can deliver a prosperous economy with a sustainable further and higher education sector”.
“I’ve been clear that the financial position facing my department is extremely challenging, as it is for all departments,” Archibald said.
“The executive have also been clear about that. We’ve been warning repeatedly that our finances are unsustainable.
“We need to ensure that we have a proper, sustainable funding model for the executive that will allow us to invest in our public services.
“From my perspective, last week’s announcement by Ulster University is a real-world consequence of the executive not being funded to their level of need.
“We need to be able to provide sustainable funding.”
Union: ‘Staff already work under sustained pressure’
The University and College Union (UCU) said the proposed cuts represent “a direct threat to the quality of education, respect for staff, desires and ambitions of students and the long-term future of our institution”.
“Staff already work under sustained pressure, with rising workloads and impossible demands,” the trade union said in a statement.
“Imposing redundancies on this scale is deeply alarming and unsustainable.
“Removing hundreds of staff will fundamentally damage the student experience and weaken academic provision.”
The UCU, one of three trade unions recognised by Ulster University, said it would resist compulsory redundancies, “challenge all unjustified job losses” and “hold the university and government to account”.
“Ulster University plays a critical civic role, and decisions of this magnitude if forced through would have far-reaching detrimental consequences for students, local communities, and the wider regional economy,” it said.
“This announcement indicates a complete lack of a clear strategic vision for sustainable growth and development.
“At a time when universities should be expanding opportunity, investing in innovation, and strengthening their regional impact, large-scale redundancies signal regression, rather than progression.”
