The university will abolish 150 FTE academic positions with the long discussed school structure now set to go ahead

Vice Chancellor Alex Zelinsky tells staff that half these roles are either vacant or will become so this year, through the university’s early retirement scheme and the end of fixed term contracts.

The university will also create 92.8 FTE new positions, for a net loss 59.5. There is no word on how many actual individuals make up existing FTE positions.

Across the three colleges the academic staff changes in constituent schools are;

Engineering, Science and Environment: 61 FTE to go and 47.6 positions to be created

Health, Medicine and Wellbeing: 49.5 going and 29.3 created

Human and Social Futures: 39.8 abolished and 15.9 new

Professional staff reductions in the schools are smaller;

Engineering, Science and Environment: 28.9 gone and 27.6 new

Health, Medicine and Wellbeing: 22.2 out and 24.6 new

Human and Social Futures: 12.9 abolished and nine created

The vice chancellor tells staff these changes will save $20m a year. When added to savings already announced for admin divisions and the colleges the university has reached its savings target of $35m recurrent.

Learned readers speculate that these savings may mean increased workloads for staff, especially academics. In some cases, they suggest, budgets for empty positions have been used to pay casual teaching staff – who are already gone and are not expected to be back.