Cardiff University to Cut 400 Jobs and Cease Teaching Music

The head of the university's music department, Llion Huw Williams, labeled the cuts as "a gross dereliction of duty"

Cardiff University in Wales has announced that it plans to cut four hundred jobs across all departments — equating to approximately 10% of its staff. In addition, it will cut entire course programs in Music, Ancient History, Modern Languages and Translation, Nursing, and Religion and Theology.

The university's Vice-Chancellor Professor Wendy Larner noted that like many other institutions in the tertiary sector, the university was facing significant financial difficulty, and she said that without significant reform, its day-to-day operation would become "untenable." Larner also described the system of funding for universities in the UK as "broken."

The Guardian reported that the university had an operating deficit of £31.2m in 2023/24, its international student applications were "plummeting," and if it carried on as it was it would "run out of cash in four years."

UCU representative Andy Williams said that staff walkouts were likely in response to the proposal. The issue will now proceed to a vote, and if there is to be a strike it will take place in the next 90 days.

A petition has been launched in support of the music department, which you can sign here.