Northern Ireland's largest higher education institution, Ulster University, is set to make approximately 450 staff redundant.
The university, home to over 30,000 students and 3,100 staff across its Belfast, Jordanstown, Coleraine, and Londonderry campuses, had its Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Bartholomew brief employees virtually on Wednesday. The proposed job losses are currently understood to be part of a voluntary scheme.
A university spokesperson said: “Redundancies across the higher education sector have become unavoidable.
“To date, more than 100 institutions across the UK have downsized their staffing complement.
“Ulster University has sought to hold off on making redundancies while continuing to work with the Department for the Economy, through their reviews, on possible changes to the HE (higher education) funding model in Northern Ireland.
“It has recently been made clear to us that a sustainable funding model is not going to be forthcoming, and regretfully we must now act to reduce our costs.”
In May last year, Ulster joined regional counterparts Queen’s University Belfast and the Open University in Ireland warning Stormont’s Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald that her decision not to raise tuition fees above the rate of inflation would have a “seriously detrimental impact on higher education”.
The universities warned there was a funding crisis in the sector and said current arrangements were “not sustainable”, but Ms Archibald did not approve a cap increase beyond the annual inflationary adjustment.
DUP MLA Phillip Brett said the Sinn Fein minister had “failed to bring forward a credible plan to support higher education, leaving institutions like Ulster University facing impossible financial pressures”.
“Today’s announcement shows the scale of this failure. Behind every one of these potential job losses is a family facing uncertainty and a student experience that will inevitably be impacted,” he said.
“This is not just a financial issue; it is a failure of leadership. Promises around expansion, including at Magee, now ring hollow when basic funding cannot be secured to sustain existing provision.”
He said: “The Department for the Economy cannot continue to drift while our universities are pushed to the brink.
“Urgent, decisive intervention is needed now to protect jobs, safeguard students, and secure the future of higher education in Northern Ireland.”
The Department for Economy has been approached for comment.
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