Staff at a university campus in Finsbury Square are facing redundancy after plans were announced to close the branch at the end of the academic year.
The University of Liverpool’s London campus, which offers predominantly postgraduate degree programmes, hosts more than 340 students and just over 50 members of staff.
Gavin Brown, Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education at the University of Liverpool, said that the closure came from change in “strategic priorities” and desire to focus on “driving access to education through a dual local and global vision”.
A spokesperson for the university told Islington Now that they expected to make staff redundancies, but could not confirm a final number.
“We are consulting with those affected to identify how we can best support them and minimise the impact of this decision on them personally, including exploring opportunities for redeployment where possible”, the spokesperson added.
The University and College Union (UCU) confirmed that they are consulting the university about the closure and seeking more information about the impact on staff.
Martyn Moss, a regional official for the union, said “our priority is to protect jobs and oppose any compulsory redundancies, as well as ensuring that staff do not suffer unfavourable treatment simply because they’re London-based”.
“UCU will be pressing for the same approach to avoiding compulsory redundancies as agreed for staff based in Liverpool”, he added.
