Star date: 17th June 2020

POST VIRUS CUTS CARNAGE AT SALFORD UNIVERSITY

Salford University is looking to make savings of £21.5million starting on 1st August, which could mean masses of redundancies at the loss-making institution...."The current pandemic has accelerated the need for us to address the challenges of our income and expenditure" staff were told in an email yesterday.

Meanwhile, Salford has seen one new confirmed coronavirus case, bringing the total to 967 and no new deaths at Salford Royal Hospital, as latest ONS figures show one sad death at a care home in the week up to 5th June.

Full details here...

Staff at the University of Salford are preparing for a cuts carnage as they were told of plans to make around £21.5million savings in an email yesterday.

The University had already culled professors in its Business School following a £48million loss last financial year and a £28.9million deficit, with Senior Lecturers apparently next on its list of redundancies (see previous Salford Star article – click here).

Now staff fear that this will be peanuts compared to what is to come..."The current pandemic has accelerated the need for us to address the challenges of our income and expenditure..." wrote Julie Charge, Executive Director of Finance, in the email "Current financial modelling predicts that we will need to save circa £21.5million in the 2020/21 financial year starting on 1 August 2020...

"...It is foreseeable in the current economic climate that we will need to further extend our cost-reduction activity" she added "We will need to work with all to see how savings can be identified at a local level..."

The University, the email explains, is considering a pay and recruitment freeze, putting the brakes on travel, training and conference participation, 'minimising stationery and printing costs', and 'Implementing new and more flexible ways of working'.

It's understood that these measures won't save anything like £21.5million and mass redundancies could be on the cards..."Once again this could have been avoided if the University had been managed properly in the last few years" a member of staff told the Salford Star.

Meanwhile, Salford has seen one new confirmed coronavirus case, bringing the total to 967. Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, the number of confirmed virus cases in Manchester now totals 1,685 (up from 1,676), followed by Wigan with 1,230 (same), Oldham 1,139 (up from 1,138), Stockport 1,073 (up from 1,070), Bolton 1,045 (up from 1,044), Trafford 870 (up from 868), Rochdale 863 (up from 861), Tameside 833 (up from 832), and Bury 806 (up from 803).

There were no new virus-related deaths at Salford Royal Hospital but new Office for National Statistics, or ONS, figures released yesterday show one new sad death in a Salford care home for the week up to 5th June.