The University of Essex senior management team have announced their plans to make 400 staff redundant, as part of a cost-saving exercise of unprecedented proportions. That's 400 careers wrecked, 400 families' livelihoods thrown into jeopardy, and 10,000+ students left with urgent unanswered questions about what this means for their education.

Highlights so far include:

All of this follows a recent severance programme and a years-long hiring freeze which have left us decimated, and 20 years' worth of real-terms pay cuts and constant increases in workload. Our staff are at their limit. This cynical cost-saving exercise will destroy our University's reputation for excellence in education and research, and leave staff even more overworked and burnt out.

Both collective and individual redundancy consultations have now concluded. The senior management team have not budged, and even our simplest questions about what this means for our students' futures remain unanswered. As a result, Essex UCU has grown to its largest size ever, and we have achieved the strongest ballot result in the branch's history. We are now calling for an escalating programme of industrial action, beginning with 6 days of strike action in February 2026.

A university is nothing without its staff. Please help support our members in defending their jobs and their students' education.

All funds raised will go into the Essex UCU hardship fund, to be used to support Essex UCU members who are facing punitive deductions for industrial action.