The University of Canberra will cut hundreds of jobs as the education institution grapples with poor finances. This morning staff and students were told that more than 200 positions will be lost through vacant positions, unrenewed contracts and redundancies. The announcement is made in the wake of job losses for employees of the Australian National University.
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00:00Another university on the ropes.
00:04We are spending more than we're bringing in.
00:06We can be sustainable, but we're going to have to do something urgent and quite significant.
00:12The University of Canberra needs to save $50 million by the end of next year.
00:18It's already cut two senior executive roles, while another nine senior managers also have their jobs on the line.
00:25But the majority of savings are expected to come from staff salaries, through more than 200 jobs.
00:31Days after the Australian National University blamed similar cuts on changes to international student caps,
00:37the University of Canberra is blaming itself.
00:40I think there's a collective responsibility there from management at all levels.
00:46I think we've lost sight of some of the trends and it's very regrettable.
00:52While it's not clear who will be affected, the cuts are expected to hurt the faculties the most.
00:58But some in administration and professional services will also lose their jobs.
01:03To some extent, the writing's been on the wall.
01:05This has been a situation that has been sort of on the cards for a little while in terms of UC's financial mismanagement.
01:12The news didn't come as a shock to the union, but it did for students.
01:16A bit surprised, really. We didn't really know much about it.
01:19If we don't have the right people to teach what we are studying, it could affect the way that we learn.
01:25Unlike ANU, which is asking staff to forego an agreed pay rise, staff at UC are assured that won't happen to them.
01:33I am not going to propose that any member of staff forego a pay rise or make that kind of sacrifice.
01:41It's not yet clear when the university will begin consultation with staff.