Across the Scottish higher education sector, universities are facing real financial pressures. Changes in international student recruitment, rising costs and wider economic uncertainty have created difficult conditions for many institutions.

Several universities have responded by consulting on workforce reductions. However, in recent months a number of institutions have stepped back from the use of compulsory redundancies, recognising the long-term damage they can cause to staff morale, research capacity and institutional reputation.

At Glasgow Caledonian University the situation appears to be moving in the opposite direction.

If compulsory redundancies proceed here, GCU would become the first university in Scotland in the current cycle of financial pressures to implement them. That would be a significant step for any institution. For a university that defines itself as the University for the Common Good, it raises particularly difficult questions.

Is GCU aiming to become the first university to force through sweeping compulsory redundancies?

GCU’s identity has always rested on values of social responsibility, fairness and community. Those values are not simply marketing language; they are meant to guide how decisions are made, particularly in challenging times.

Yet the current proposals would involve permanent reductions in academic and professional services staff at a time when the University still holds substantial cash reserves and when the wider sector is actively exploring alternatives to compulsory redundancies.

Staff understand that universities must plan for financial uncertainty. What they struggle to understand is why permanent job losses are being pursued when other options remain available and when other institutions are choosing different paths.

Universities are communities of people whose work depends on trust: academic staff, professional service colleagues, students and partners. Decisions that affect livelihoods and academic capacity should therefore meet the highest standard of transparency, evidence and fairness.

The consultation process currently underway provides an opportunity to reflect carefully on the choices being made.

For a University for the Common Good, the question is not simply what is financially possible, but what is consistent with its values.