Industrial action and the prospect of compulsory redundancies is looming at Newcastle University after it failed to hit its target for voluntary severance applications.

University bosses, following discussions with trade unions, extended the deadline for voluntary severances for academic staff until today (Monday February 24), after applications by last Monday only amounted to half of the desired number.

This followed the university’s announcement it needs to find £30m in savings for 2025/26, £20m of which is hoped to come from the institution’s salary budget - the potential equivalent of 300 full time jobs.

Campus chiefs were also unable to rule out the possibility of compulsory redundancies.

In September 2024, it was revealed the university was facing a £35m shortfall in income due to a fall in the number of international students, who often pay higher tuition fees, a situation mirrored across much of the higher education sector.

The severance scheme has now closed and the university is now in the processing of reviewing applications. The Newcastle branch of the University and College Union (UCU), which represents lecturers, alongside numerous other branches across the UK, successfully balloted on industrial action, confirming 14 non-consecutive days of academic walk-outs throughout March.