Hundreds of staff at the University of Edinburgh have opted for voluntary redundancy as the institution begins to take major cost-cutting measures expected to total around £140 million.

About 350 staff are reported to have accepted a severance package, which the university said would amount to savings of around £18 million, with those taking the payout set to receive formal confirmation next week.

In a letter to staff first reported by the Herald, Edinburgh University’s principal and vice-chancellor, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, said that although the cuts ‘may seem like a relatively small number within our large university population’ they would be an important part of its cost saving measures.

Discussing next steps, Mathieson stressed that Edinburgh University would need to make more changes to its ‘size, shape and ways of working’, adding that it was not possible to rule out compulsory redundancies in future.

“The subsequent level of staff savings that will still need to be made is being assessed, and budget holders have been working to identify proposed savings as part of the Planning Round decision-making process,” wrote Mathieson.

“This work is informing the development of an overall budget and five-year plan, for presentation to Court in the summer.”

Edinburgh’s vice-chancellor also told colleagues that the university planned to freeze academic promotions ‘until we reach a more stable financial position’, with no application process opening for the 2025/26 academic year.

“I realise that this will disappoint our academic colleagues, but this is needed to further contribute to our overall cost-saving measures,” continued Mathieson.

“We will use this intervening period to make improvements to future academic promotions processes based on the feedback we received through the review held last year.”

The news of cuts follows another all-hands alert sent by Mathieson in February, which told Edinburgh University staff that senior management were aiming to make £140 million in cuts, with ‘nothing off the table.’

Mathieson claimed that the ‘magnitude of the financial gap that we need to close’ could not be achieved through recruitment restraint or small-scale measures, with the university facing a black hole amounting to 10% of its annual turnover.

Rather than cutting staff, however, the University and College Union argued that the university should consider using some of its reserves, with Edinburgh Uni’s annual accounts showing net assets of a staggering £3.1 billion last year.

The clash led the UCU to open a ballot on strike action, running until the 20th of May, with the union saying that in an earlier consultative ballot, 75% of members said that they would be willing to strike, while 85% would take part in action short of strikes.

The prospect of strike action at one of the UK’s oldest and most respected universities comes during a particularly challenging period for Scottish higher education institutions.

Dundee University is currently in the midst of its own financial crisis after facing a £35 million deficit, which has required both a £22 million lifeline from the Scottish Funding Council and the formation of a ‘rescue taskforce’ by the Scottish Government.

Likewise, the University of Aberdeen has announced its own recruitment and promotions freeze, with plans to ‘revisit’ voluntary redundancies, blaming the rise in National Insurance Contributions which the university said would ramp up running costs by more than £4 million.

Meanwhile, staff at Robert Gordon University (RGU), also in Aberdeen, began strike action this month, with lecturers walking out after ongoing disputes with university management over cost-cutting measures, with union leaders arguing these would lead to substantial job losses and a detrimental impact on educational provision at RGU.

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Speaking yesterday at Holyrood, the Scottish Government’s minister for higher education, Graeme Dey, commented on the ongoing cash crisis faced by Scottish universities.

“The Scottish Government is aware of broader financial pressures impacting on the university sector, including the impact of United Kingdom Government migration policies on international student recruitment, and the increase to employer national insurance contributions, which is estimated to cost Scottish universities, including those in the city of Edinburgh, more than £48 million,” said Dey.

“Although universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility for their own strategic and operational decision making, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council will continue to engage closely with the sector and to offer appropriate support to universities as they develop their own plans to address financial challenges.

“In line with our fair work principles, I expect universities to engage meaningfully with staff on the potential impact of their plans. 

“My clear expectation is that universities work with staff to make every effort to protect jobs and avoid compulsory redundancies, which should only be considered as a last resort, after all other cost-saving measures have been fully explored.”