Staff at the University of Sheffield have been asked to vote in support of strike action after an announcement today from the University and College Union (UCU).

The UCU has claimed the university management scheme could see up to 1,000 jobs lost through voluntary or compulsory redundancy. Strike action could take place as soon as April if compulsory redundancies are not ruled out.

A spokesperson for the university denies that 1,000 jobs are at risk and the necessary cuts are part of the process agreed with trade unions.

They said: “Like many UK universities a decrease in international students has affected our income.

“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.”

The university staffing budget aims to cut £23m in this and the next academic year. This is estimated to equate to over 400 jobs.

The Sheffield branch president of the UCU, Robyn Orfitelli, has condemned the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University, Koen Lamberts, by stating his introduction of restructures at the university and at least 25 formal changes to management processes has impacted hundreds of employees.

She said: “It 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.”

Management at the university has argued that cuts are essential in order to return to a surplus in the next two years. However, the university’s accounts show that the total income grew by 1% to £859m between 2023-2024.

The accounts also state: “We continue to have healthy cash balances, with year-end cash balances of £221m.”

The union have said that after assessing these figures, the university could afford a more measured approach to its current financial situation as opposed to significantly reducing its number of staff in such a short time frame.

Jo Grady, the General Secretary at the UCU, said: “There are a number of options management could take instead of seeking to axe 400 jobs, but so far there has been no attempt to work with us to use the university’s strong financial position to protect jobs or indeed to shift savings onto other areas.

She added: “We hope management begins to work with us so we can avoid any industrial unrest.”

The University of Sheffield is not the only university to have expressed financial concerns after the decrease in intake of international students.

The University of Durham has opened the same strike ballot as Sheffield, with the University of Dundee staff promising 15 days of strike action.