More than 20 academic staff members have been told they will lose their jobs as part of a cull of 123 workers at the University of Brighton.
A rally will be held on Monday in protest at the compulsory redundancies as members of the Univesity and College Union (UCU) continue an indefinite strike.
The union says another 80 staff have reluctantly accepted voluntary redundancy.
The rally will take place at 12.30pm at the university’s main building in Grand Parade.
The union says the job cuts will decimate subjects including art, literature, education, acute care and nursing, engineering, and sport science at Brighton.
UCU regional official Michael Moran said: “Brighton University management are not only cruelly attacking the livelihoods of our members, but committing a monumental act of self-harm.
“If these brutal job cuts are not revoked, they will do irreparable damage to the university’s educational provision and indeed its reputation.
“These redundancies have been pursued in an especially shameful manner, with the employer refusing to open the books or entertain any meaningful consultation with their hard-working staff through the union.
“We do know, however, that the university leadership are happy to waste tens of millions on flashy new buildings while taking an axe to jobs.
“Pleading poverty in this context really strains credulity.
“It is not too late for the university to change course, withdraw the compulsory redundancy notices, and prevent their reputation sinking any further.”
A University of Brighton spokesperson said: “As a provider of high-quality, skills-based education, there are significant opportunities for us to continue to strengthen our position as we look to the future. The changes we are making to our workforce will help us to do that.
“Like many other universities, the backdrop to these changes has a significant financial dimension. We have been open with our staff about the nature of this financial challenge, and consulted fully with our trade unions on the proposals.
“Through this process, we have ensured we retain the right staff with the collective skills, experience and expertise to continue to deliver our full range of courses for our current and future students. We continue to do all we can to support those colleagues impacted by these proposals.”
I find it disingenuous for the spokesperson to state that they “consulted fully with our trade unions on the proposals” whilst those trade unions are also on indefinite strike for the same reason.