Keele University is set to make another 150 job cuts as its financial situation worsens.

The university is facing a further £5 million deficit in 2025/26, in addition to a previously announced £6 million annual savings target.

There are now plans to cut 100 more academic roles along with around 50 professional services jobs.

University leaders say the higher education sector is facing 'unprecedented financial challenges' and insist that job cuts are necessary to secure Keele's long-term future.

But the University and College Union has condemned the job cuts as an 'ill-conceived solution', claiming they will only make Keele's financial problems worse.

UCU members recently carried out five days of strike action as part of their dispute over plans to cut 24 academic jobs within the schools of humanities and social sciences. Keele was expected to approve up to 11 compulsory redundancies on Tuesday.

Following the announcement of further job cuts, the UCU has called for an immediate halt to redundancies and the establishment of a joint working group to 'properly diagnose Keele's financial problems'.

A UCU spokesperson said: "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.

"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 fulfil its mission of preparing students for their futures while dismantling the very foundation of their education?"

Keele has blamed a number of factors for its current difficulties, including the value of tuition fees being eroded by inflation and uncertainty over international student recruitment. But the UCU claims the university's tuition fee income has increased 'significantly' in recent years, while staff costs have stagnated.

A spokesperson for the university said: "The UK higher education sector is facing unprecedented financial challenges as a result of tuition fees being frozen for over a decade and not keeping pace with inflation, as well as a volatile international student recruitment market.

"Sadly, Keele is not alone in facing these challenges, as highlighted in a report from the Office for Students published last week which shows nearly half of UK universities are facing similar situations.

"We have worked hard over several years to ensure Keele is able to withstand these pressures as much as possible, and job losses are always a last resort, but are necessary to secure Keele's long-term future.

"We recognise that this is unsettling news for both staff and students, and our priority is to support staff who are affected by these changes, as well as minimising the impact of these changes on our students to ensure we can continue to deliver an outstanding student experience."

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