The chief executive officer of Australia's national science agency has confirmed up to 500 jobs will be slashed in a bid to reduce costs by at least $100 million.
CSIRO flagged a spate of job cuts to staff in April, but until now have remained vague on impacts to its Enterprise Services division, which will be the worst affected.
Doug Hilton wrote to staff at the agency on Tuesday, announcing that "the task ahead is significant".
"To support CSIRO's financial sustainability, we need to reduce costs across [Enterprise Services] by 25 per cent - which is at least $100m," Professor Hilton wrote in the email, seen by The Canberra Times.
"Up until now, it has been difficult to quantify this in terms of roles, due to the variety of factors at play.
"Based on modelling conducted as part of Wave 3, I can now share that the staff impact during Wave 3 of the Reform is likely to be between 375 and 500 roles."
The division comprises jobs in corporate functions such as IT, HR, communications, business development, facilities management and finance.
Professor Hilton told staff that leadership would be doing "everything possible" to minimise job losses.
"This includes looking for additional savings in our operating budget, term ends where appropriate, natural staff attrition, and in some cases, through voluntary redundancy," he wrote.
"I know this is a confronting reality, but I also firmly believe in transparency."
CSIRO Staff Association, a branch of the Community and Public Sector Union, called the confirmation a "terrible outcome" for the agency.
"These cuts are a body blow for CSIRO and have the potential to cripple research output as scientists scramble to cover support gaps," secretary Susan Tonks said.
"However, we know that research positions at CSIRO are not safe and the cuts just keep on coming."
The agency has confirmed about 80 job cuts across its health and biosecurity, agriculture and food, and manufacturing divisions.
The union also fears up to 120 jobs could be slashed from Data61, the agency's data and digital research division.
CSIRO's baseline appropriate funding has remained the same at $916.5 million in the 2024-25 financial year, but the agency is adapting to the end of COVID-era additional funding.
