Sheffield Hallam University announces £27m more in cuts this year with union warning of redundancies to come
Hundreds of jobs are on the line at Sheffield Hallam University after staff were told to expect another £27m in cuts this year, it is feared.
An all-staff meeting was held yesterday (February 26) where deputy vice chancellor David Shepherd announced the university “needs” to save £16m in jobs, plus find another £8m through changes to pension schemes.
There was a similar meeting in May 2025, where staff members were told to expect £28m in ‘savings’, led by voluntary redundancies.
This itself came after 450 people left in 2024, and amid £60m in cuts made over the previous two years.
In February the university announced it is selling several mansions on its Collegiate Campus, and it lost accreditation for its City Athletics Stadium track because it cannot afford the £1.5m to bring it up to standard.
What has Sheffield Hallam University said?
A spokesperson for Sheffield Hallam University said: “Like all universities, we are having to make tough decisions due to the well-documented financial challenges being faced across the higher education sector.
“We are fully committed to consulting staff and are already in discussions with trade union representatives on how we will work with them on any future proposals.
“With the overall financial picture for universities likely to be challenging for some time, we must continue to make the difficult choices required to reduce costs and increase income, in order to emerge in a stronger, sustainable position for the future.”
What is happening to pensions?
Of particular concern to staff are reported changes to SHU’s pension schemes in a bid to find £8m in savings.
The University and College Union fears SHU’s plan is to move staff off its books and reorganise so they effectively work for a subsidiary company and not the university directly.
They claim this would allow SHU to get around paying the higher pension contributions typical of staff receiving the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
When asked if this was the intention, the university said in a statement: “No formal proposals on pensions have been put forward, although we have previously communicated to staff that we are considering options to help address the disproportionately high pension costs post-1992 universities like Sheffield Hallam are facing.
“For example, our pension costs have increased from £5m to £35m in the last 20 years.”
What have unions said?
The university’s branch of the UCU, which claimed in a 2025 report that SHU has “consistently” run at a loss since 2017, is now balloting members on whether to go on a “sustained” strike.
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It comes after staff at SHU as well as the University of Sheffield held a combined total of 28 days industrial action in November 2025.
A UCU statement reads: “The university’s financial decision making remains under intense scrutiny in the light of recent job losses.
“The branch does not accept the rationale offered for further job cuts and changes to staff pensions (which are deferred earnings) and demands that the University Executive Board look to other options to make the cost savings they suggest they need.”
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