The University of Aberdeen has announced a major cost-cutting drive in a bid to save millions of pounds, including halting almost all staff recruitment, revisiting voluntary redundancies, and pausing promotions.
The move comes as the institution faces a projected £4.7 million rise in costs for the 2025/26 financial year, driven by higher National Insurance contributions, last year’s pay award, incremental salary increases, and inflationary pressures.
A university spokesperson described the steps as “regrettable but necessary,” stating:
“We’ve made good progress on stabilising and improving our financial position by managing our costs, setting tough savings targets, and pausing recruitment on many roles. We now need to make further savings as costs for 2025/26 are set to climb by at least £4.7m due to higher National Insurance contributions, last year’s pay award, the payment of increments and inflationary pressures across a wide range of areas. The steps are regrettable but necessary to help us offset some of our rising costs and continue to navigate unprecedented times for our sector.”
The university is also considering reopening voluntary severance and enhanced retirement schemes for staff whose applications were previously declined, as part of efforts to address a current-year deficit of £6.5 million.
Aberdeen’s announcement follows similar moves at other Scottish universities, where financial pressures have triggered large-scale job cuts and industrial unrest. Robert Gordon University (RGU), also in Aberdeen, began strike action this week after announcing up to 60 compulsory redundancies following earlier voluntary severance schemes.
Andrea Bradley, General Secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), commented:
“Any move to strike action is taken as a last resort, but our members at Robert Gordon have been left with no alternative as they seek to fend off the university’s cuts agenda. The scale of the cuts proposed at RGU is alarming, with significant job losses and a serious impact on learning and teaching across the university.”
At the University of Dundee, staff are being balloted for further strike action as the university seeks to cut up to 700 jobs to address a £35 million deficit.
Meanwhile, at the University of Edinburgh, a strike ballot is underway over plans to slash £140 million from the budget and the refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies.
The University and College Union (UCU) Scotland reports that 75% of members in a consultative ballot were willing to strike, with 85% supporting action short of a strike.
The crisis has prompted calls for urgent action from both local and national politicians.
Scottish Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Andrew Bowie, said: “As a former graduate at Aberdeen University, this is devastating news for students, staff and industries across Scotland which rely on their skills and expertise.
“So soon after Robert Gordon University was forced into making redundancies, this announcement is a further hammer blow to the city and the wider North East region.
“With demand for university places continuing to rise, the prospect of reducing staff is disastrous for the future of our young people, our workforce and employers.
“Labour’s National Insurance hikes and the failure of the SNP to properly fund our universities is plunging institutions like Aberdeen into an even deeper crisis.
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“Both of Scotland’s governments have been asleep at the wheel and must urgently reverse the damage they have done by properly supporting our higher education sector before it’s too late.”.
Minister for Higher Education Graeme Dey acknowledged the anxiety among staff and students, urging the university and trade unions to “engage constructively to resolve disputes,” and stating that compulsory redundancies should only be used as a last resort.
With Aberdeen University joining a growing list of Scottish institutions facing severe financial strain and staff unrest, the higher education sector in Scotland is bracing for further disruption. University leaders, unions, and government officials are under increasing pressure to find solutions that protect jobs and the quality of education while addressing the sector’s mounting financial challenges.
