Cardiff University plans to cut 400 jobs and courses.

Cardiff University plans to cut 400 jobs and  courses.
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An exterior  view of a Cardiff University building with students  entering Alamy
The university has confirmed it is planning to cut hundreds of jobs and close some  courses.
Cardiff University has confirmed plans to cut 400 full-time jobs  due to a  lack of funding.
The cost-cutting proposals could also  include closing courses, as well as  merging departments, with nursing, music and modern languages  among the subjects facing  cuts.
The Cardiff University and College Union (UCU)  has branded the measures  "cruel and  unnecessary" and said it would fight  the plans for compulsory  furloughs.
The university said it would only make compulsory  cuts "if absolutely  necessary".
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Hundreds of  university jobs  threatened by lack of funding
Fall in foreign student visas  worries UK  universities
Vice-chancellor Professor Wendy Larner  has defended the decision to cut jobs, saying the university  will become  "unsustainable" without drastic  reforms. The job cuts are  just a proposal, she said, but  she insisted the university  would have to  "make difficult  decisions" due to  a drop in international student applications and  mounting pressure on costs.
Professor Larner said the university  was not alone in its financial  difficulties, with most UK universities  struggling with  a "broken" funding  system.
She admitted the news would  be "difficult and  upsetting" for  staff, but added that all students  currently graduating from the university would be able to complete their  studies.
Dr Joey Whitfield  of Cardiff UCU said they were  "absolutely devastated" by the  "cruel and  unnecessary" cuts.
"I've had colleagues in tears.  "They are damaging to our members, our students, the  city and Wales as a  whole," he  added.
He said union members  "are prepared to fight  tooth and nail against any compulsory  redundancy".
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Proposed job cuts  "make me nervous  for my  future", say Cardiff University  students
A Welsh  Government spokesman said they were  "very disappointed that nursing courses  are part of these  proposals" and  were "working urgently" to ensure the same number of nurses are trained  as in  Wales.
They said they understood  the "great concern" the announcement  would cause.
"Universities across the UK are facing  difficult financial  times due to a range of factors and we expect all institutions to work with unions, staff and students on any  proposals," they  said. The Royal College of Nursing said the  proposed closure of the  nursing school  "has the potential to threaten the pipeline of  qualified nurses  in Wales' largest health  board".
Ruth Jones MP,  chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, compared the job cuts to a  "canary in a  coal mine" for the severe financial pressures facing universities across the  UK.
"It is not  just academics and students who will suffer from these cuts, but the wider community  of South Wales," added Ms  Jones.
Conservative Senedd  MP Natasha Asghar  MS said she feared  "these concerns will be  echoed in our universities in  Wales".
Plaid Cymru's education  spokesman, Cefin Campbell  MS, said the job losses would have  a "devastating impact", damaging  "Wales' reputation as a  learning nation". Madison Hutchinson, president of Cardiff  University's students' union, said  she would "like to express our unwavering support  for all  students and solidarity  with staff who may be  affected".
"The university  is committed to ensuring that all  affected students will be  informed tomorrow," she  added.
Getty Images Cardiff  University facadeGetty Images
Cardiff University is the largest  university in  Wales and  is a member of the Russell  Group.
Subjects and programmes being cut also include ancient  history, religion and  theology.
The university said the proposals would also include the following subject  combinations:
Chemistry, Earth Science and  Physics would join to create the School of Natural Sciences
Computer  Science and  Mathematics would join to become the School of Data Science
Social  Science, Geography and  Planning would join to become the School of  Humanities and Social Sciences
English,  Communication and  Philosophy, Welsh and  the remaining elements of  History, Archaeology and  Religion and  Modern Languages would join to form the School of Global  Humanities.
The consultations would last three months, with final  approval of the plans to be considered by  the University Council in June  2025.
Lloyd-Llewellyn Jones, Professor of Ancient History
Lloyd-Llewellyn Jones, Professor of Ancient History, said the announcement  was "devastating".
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, 57, professor of ancient history at Cardiff University, said the news was "devastating" and  "shocking". He said  that "significant parts of our  teaching" in the College of  Humanities would be lost, with his department being  "taught out, so it  no longer exists."
"How are we  going to continue trying to teach  for years to come, with a sword of Damocles hanging over our  heads?" he  added.
Kristin Millward stands outside. She is wearing a brown leather jacket,  a grey  sweater, and a jade  necklace. Criminology student Kristin Millward said she was  concerned about the impact on staff and her  course.
Kristin Milward, from London,  is studying criminology and  sociology and said the announcement was  "terrifying." "My professor just  told me he's not sure about his job security  – even though I'm not  part of the university courses  that are going to be cut, it's really scary knowing  that 'I could  leave at any  moment,'" she  said.
"Don't wait to  sign up, pay all this money and have this happen to  you," she  added.
The 20-year-old said her  roommate is studying nursing and  doesn't know what  she's going to do  next, but  they're all worried about their  future.
"Cardiff is a really great place to  study, I really  like it and it would be a shame  if people  couldn't stay here  anymore," she  said.
Students Gabriella Coviell (right) and Catherine Harris (left) pictured outside Cardiff University.  Media and  communications students Gabriella and Catherine say they are concerned about the quality of their  teaching.
The university had previously said it  needed to take action to  plug a £30m black hole in its  budget, with pressure  from rising costs and falling international student numbers affecting the  entire education  sector.
A voluntary redundancy offer  from June  to September 2024  has been accepted and approved for 155 staff and a second round closed earlier this month The Welsh government has  announced that university tuition fees will rise to £9,535 a year from September 2025, in line with  the UK government's announced fee increases for English  universities.
Cardiff University is the largest in Wales, with 32,725 students in  2023.
It is  part of the Russell  Group of 24  leading, research-intensive institutions, often considered the most elite in the  country.
Analysis: Vanessa Clarke, BBC News Education Correspondent
Cardiff University is  not alone - Newcastle University, the University of East Anglia and the University of Kent are just some of the institutions  struggling to  address their financial  shortfalls.
Almost three-quarters of universities could  spend more money than they  take in next year  - with a total  forecast of  £1.6 billion - according to  England's higher education  regulator. There are several reasons for the rise in black holes, including the fact that  the number of international  students is falling, partly due  to changes in visa  rules.
Tuition fees  have been rising in England in September and  in Wales for the  past two  years, but this  comes after years of  fee freezes.
Further fee increases remain uncertain, but even if tuition fees continue to rise, there  are concerns that this will not be enough to  prevent universities  from falling into  overdraft.

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