A UNION has warned that up to 150 jobs are at risk at Aberystwyth University as it encounters “serious financial problems”.

Responding to the news, featured in the Cambrian News last week, that Aberystwyth University’s new vice-chancellor Prof Elizabeth Treasure has written to all members of staff with a request for voluntary redundancies, Unison’s Jeff Baker said that the £11.4m planned cuts “will impact on the local and regional economy”.

“The university has met with the trade unions and, accounting for the scale of the savings required, we understand that up to 150 jobs could be at risk,” Mr Baker said.

“We know the university has serious financial problems.

“This is a result of a series of poor decisions taken by the senior management over a number of years, the drop in student applicants from the UK and abroad and the fact that more potential students are opting to stay at home.

“Unison will work with Aberystwyth University to identify potential savings. We will defend members’ salaries, terms and conditions. Any redundancies should fall equally on senior managers as other staff and we will be looking for additional protections for the lower-paid front-line staff."

In a statement, Aberystwyth University said it is “committed to being an exceptional teaching and research institution providing a distinctive student experience and contributing to its local community and economy”.

“However, like other UK universities, we are facing changes and challenges including increasingly intense competition for students, a demographic decrease in the current pool of 18-year-olds, and rising costs,” a university spokeswoman said.

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