Higher education financial crisis and staff redundancies

Higher education institutions in the United Kingdom and Australia are facing significant financial instability, leading to staff redundancies and industrial action.

In Scotland, universities are experiencing strikes due to budget cuts. The University of Edinburgh has scheduled a five-week strike through October 30, while staff at Glasgow Caledonian University, including security and cleaning workers, planned a 15-day strike starting October 1 to protest up to 100 compulsory redundancies. Critics have expressed concern that students may become “collateral damage” due to lost teaching time.

Broader financial pressures are also affecting the University of Sunderland, which confirmed redundancies for teaching and support staff citing rising operational costs and regulatory changes. Similarly, Australia’s Charles Sturt University has proposed cutting 101 full-time positions by February 2027. The institution attributed its deficit to a $70 million maintenance backlog and a significant decline in international student enrolments, which fell from 8,500 in 2019 to 1,620 in 2025.