Lecturers and staff at the University of Dundee, Scotland, have begun a five-week strike to protest the university’s latest proposed job cuts amid its financial crisis.

The industrial action comes in response to the institution’s announcement of a fresh round of job cuts in June, as it proposed to remove 187 jobs, which eventually dropped to 154 job losses in August.

According to the University and College Union (UCU), 149 applications were submitted for voluntary redundancies. The union said 815 jobs have been lost since the crisis began. 

The five-week strike began on Monday, September 21, and it is set to run until October 23.

The financial crisis started in November 2024 when its former principal, Professor Iain Gillespie, announced an unexpected £30 million deficit.

Professor Nigel Seaton, the university’s interim principal, described the crisis as the worst recorded by any British higher education institution since World War Two, adding that the university cannot fund its current level of staff. 

Mr Seaton said the institution was working to avoid forcing staff out of their jobs, adding that the 85 Indians have been offered voluntary redundancy, with eight staff members offered new jobs within the school.

Mr Seaton added that he is fairly confident lectures will commence despite the strike, as he believes the university’s financial circumstances are improving, and he said the current crisis arose from poor leadership and inadequate corporate governance.

He also argued that the university had more employees than it needed before the job cuts, saying that about one-third of its staff has been reduced.