Glasgow Caledonian University says it needs to make staff redundant because of a financial crisis caused by the collapse in international student income.

There is no question that international recruitment has fallen sharply. But financial pressures do not dictate one inevitable response. Universities make choices about how they respond to them.

On 29 June, in the middle of its Programme for Change and while staff were facing compulsory redundancy, Glasgow Caledonian University purchased the Cowcaddens site at 58 Port Dundas Road for £4.5 million plus VAT, around £5.4 million.

That deserves serious scrutiny.

The University’s own most recent published accounts do not describe an institution entering this crisis with empty coffers. At 31 July 2025, GCU reported £88.9 million cash at bank and an underlying operating surplus of £12.6 million. Its then Principal described the University as being in a ‘strong and robust position, and ready for the future.‘

And there is another significant development on the horizon.

Employer contributions to the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme currently stand at 26%. Following the equivalent valuation in England and Wales, employer contributions there are due to fall substantially from April 2027. Universities Scotland, UCU Scotland and EIS-ULA are jointly pressing the Scottish Government to accelerate the Scottish valuation because lower contributions could make a ‘positive material difference‘ to university finances. Their modelling indicates that even an 8-percentage-point reduction could save Glasgow Caledonian University nearly £2.5 million every year. The precise saving is not yet known, but the anticipated direction is clear.

None of this means that falling international income can simply be ignored. Nor are capital expenditure, pension savings and recurring staffing costs interchangeable.

But that is precisely why GCU should be explaining the choices it is making.

Buying land is a strategic choice. How quickly reserves are used is a strategic choice. How future cost reductions are incorporated into financial planning is a strategic choice.

Making people compulsorily redundant is a strategic choice too.

If GCU has the financial capacity to spend £5.4 million acquiring property during this period, and knows that a potentially substantial reduction in its pension costs is approaching, staff are entitled to ask why its financial strength cannot instead be used to buy time: time for redeployment, vacancy management, voluntary departures and other measures to reduce or avoid compulsory redundancies.

Compulsory redundancies should not be presented as though they are simply something that has happened to the University.

They are the consequence of choices about where GCU is prepared to spend money, where it is prepared to use its financial resources, and how quickly it believes staff costs must be cut.

Staff whose livelihoods are at stake deserve to know why those choices have been made.

So do our students.

And so does the Scottish public.