Coronavirus: More university ‘budget hole’ redundancies

CQUniversity has announced forced redundancies for 99 staff to help meet a budget hole of more than $100m this year.

CQUniversity vice-chancellor Nick Klomp.

CQUniversity has announced forced redundancies for 99 staff to help meet a budget hole of more than $100m this year caused by the COVID-19 ban on international student arrivals. Vice-chancellor Nick Klomp said on Thursday the university had to take the step “to ensure CQUniversity’s ongoing success and sustainability in the post-COVID-19 environment”.

Another 197 staff have taken voluntary redundancies, meaning the university has cut nearly 300 jobs to try to balance the books.

The university is the second to announce specific job losses becaus­e of COVID-19, after Deakin University said earlier this week it would lose 400 positions.

CQUniversity had previously announced the closure of three teaching sites, in Biloela, Noosa and Yeppoon, a 20 per cent executive pay cut, and fewer executive jobs and pay freezes for senior managers.

Last week, it opted out of a job-saving agreement the National Tertiary Education Union had made with the university employ­er association that offered pay cuts of up to 15 per cent for 12 months in return for job security.

Professor Klomp said then that the NTEU deal would have offered­ only temporary financial relief, while eroding the conditions for all employees.

Announcing the job cuts on Thursday, he said the university executive had considered all ­possible options to minimise job losses before deciding on forced separations.