For several months, Keele University has undergone a process that senior management expects to culminate today, on May 13th, with Council approving the compulsory redundancy of 10–11 academic staff. Keele UCU has fiercely opposed this process, resorting to industrial action over the past two weeks as a last resort after exhausting all avenues of consultation and negotiation. We categorically reject compulsory job losses at Keele—a move that is both educationally and financially misguided.
We acknowledge, as Keele’s management does, that UK higher education faces unprecedented financial challenges. Successive government policies over the past 25 years have severely damaged the sector, pushing many institutions to crisis point. However, poor government decisions have been compounded by serious managerial failures—and Keele is no exception.
Since 2018, Keele’s leadership has echoed Universities UK (UUK) in blaming inflation-eroded tuition fees and rising staff costs. Year after year, they have applied the same failed “solutions.” Last October, the Vice-Chancellor announced yet another round of cuts, framing them as necessary to “grow income (primarily through student recruitment) and reduce costs to meet inflationary pressures.” Yet these “cost reductions” have largely meant staff cuts—costing the University £1.5 million annually (adjusted for 2024 prices) through redundancies, restructurings, and mergers. Ironically, just months later, senior managers admitted that relying on student number growth is unsustainable.
We have consistently argued that the University’s financial troubles are mis-diagnosed, making staff cuts an ill-conceived solution. We have presented evidence, drawn from all available data, and repeatedly called for a joint financial working group to assess the real issues and propose sustainable fixes. Yet management has ignored this request. Yesterday, May 12th, the Vice-Chancellor revealed that—on top of the previously announced £6 million annual savings target—Keele now faces an additional £5 million deficit in 2025/26. This means that, beyond the current cuts in Humanities and Social Sciences, Keele plans to eliminate at least 100 more academic roles and over 50 professional services jobs. The origins of this new deficit remain unexplained, as does the rationale for addressing it, yet again, by slashing staff.
This latest decision follows a dangerous trend of benchmarking-driven cuts across higher education—a race to the bottom that will only worsen sector-wide crises. The proof is in the deteriorating student experience at struggling institutions: redundancies don’t just devastate those who lose their jobs; they pile unsustainable workloads on remaining staff and ultimately harm students. Keele’s students understand this—which is why they have vocally supported UCU’s industrial action. How can the University fulfill its mission of preparing students for their futures while dismantling the very foundation of their education?
Despite inflation, Keele’s tuition fee income has risen significantly, while staff costs have stagnated. Continued cuts and restructuring will not resolve financial difficulties—they will deepen them. We demand that the University:
- Halt all redundancies immediately.
- Establish a joint executive group—comprising staff experts and senior management—to properly diagnose Keele’s financial problems and develop stable, long-term solutions.
The current path is unsustainable. Keele must change course before irreversible damage is done.
Keele UCU