The institution will reduce staff by 99.8 full-time equivalent positions as part of cost-saving measures. Photo: UOW.
The University of Wollongong (UOW) has revealed it will cut just shy of 100 full-time positions in its latest restructure aimed at ensuring the institution remains financially viable.
In March when the university release its draft plan for operational change, 185 jobs were in the firing line, just months after 91 staff positions had been scrapped.
But consultation has seen that number reduced with each revision of the plan. The finalised restructure will result in the loss of 99.8 full-time equivalent positions and annual savings of $15.8 million.
UOW vice-chancellor and president Professor Max Lu acknowledged the difficult circumstances the uni and the whole sector were facing.
He thanked staff for their constructive engagement throughout the process.
“I also know taking a voluntary redundancy is a significant decision and I thank staff and wish them the very best in their next chapter,” he said.
At the start of the year UOW announced it needed to reduce recurrent costs by $30 million, but its proposed layoffs sparked backlash from staff, students and the community.
The restructure will also see changes and consolidation of operations across all major portfolios to reduce duplication and improve service delivery.
Non-salary initiatives such as improved procurement processes, workload management redesign and efficiencies through enhanced digital systems also part of the new plan.
“This transformation is not just about cost reduction – it’s about building a stronger foundation for growth, innovation and impact that will enable us to deliver on our future strategy and vision,” Prof Lu said.
“Alongside further proposed changes in other specific areas of our operations and maintaining a sharp focus on non-salary expenditure, this will help put us on a more financially sustainable footing.”
National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) branch organiser Martin Cubby said although the union was pleased the number of job losses had been reduced from the original plan, the efforts of staff had taken a toll.
“Staff are exhausted, they have seen not just this change process but multiple change processes almost all of which have impacted some staff with redundancy. They’ve essentially been continuous, rolling back-to-back in various areas of the university since COVID,” he said.
“We’ve got to this stage of this process in this particular change proposal and we are hopeful that there can now be some stability whatever comes next for the foreseeable future.”
All impacted staff were informed on Monday (25 August) and were provided with access to career and wellbeing support services. Changes are expected be rolled out gradually to allow for transition and ongoing consultation.
A university spokesperson said most job losses would be through voluntary redundancies, however, the union said the next few months would continue to be a challenge for those who choose to apply for newly created positions.
“We have a lot of questions about whether those new positions are genuinely new roles or whether its essentially the same work with a different title,” Martin said.
“Either way there’s still a huge amount of uncertainty for people who have to go for jobs.
“Often five people in a department [are] going for four jobs and so unfortunately that ‘hunger games’ scenario is what is going to play out for too many staff still over the next three to six months with two waves of that to come.”
UOW cannot guarantee there won’t be more job losses in the future.
“UOW, like many universities, is facing financial pressures from shifting student demand, rising costs and a competitive higher education landscape,” a UOW spokesperson said.
“We cannot guarantee this is the last round of changes and we are continuing to undertake proposed workplace change processes, including staff consultations, in a few specific areas of our operations.
“However, our focus is on finding savings through non-salary initiatives wherever possible and on pursuing opportunities to grow income.”
Original Article published by Keeli Dyson on Region Illawarra.
