'Cruel cuts': More ANU job losses in 2025 across 12 different areas

The university has highlighted six areas where they expect to present change proposals in June.

An additional six areas have been highlighted as "areas contemplating change".

If ANU issue an official change proposal for these areas, it will be done by the end of September 2025.

The National Tertiary Education Union has "strongly condemned" the foreshadowed job cuts.

Some of the areas proposed for change have already seen redundancies in 2024, including the academic portfolio and research and innovation portfolio.

The university has flagged it is "not known if formal organisation change will be required in 2026".

ANU has been aiming to cut salary costs by $100 million a year in order to get total operating costs down by $250 million by January 1, 2026.

After operating at a deficit for a number of years, expenses had been climbing steadily since 2019, and student numbers had not met expectations.

In early October 2024, the first redundancies were announced.

Fifty professional and academic jobs were cut as part of a restructure of the College of Health and Medicine into a new College of Science and Medicine.

Then on October 17, 87 jobs were lost from the facilities and services division, the research and innovation portfolio and the academic portfolio.

Expected changes for quarter two 2025

Potential changes for quarter three 2025

ANU said each of the areas listed for quarter three are under consideration and "may not lead to formal change proposals in every case".

Vice-Chancellor Professor Genevieve Bell said in a statement the university was "on a journey to achieve long term financial sustainability".

"We all know there hard choices to make. But we need to work collectively to ensure we continue to deliver world leading research and transformative education, as we have done since the 1940s.

"We are making every effort to minimise the impact on our community, and we will continue to consult with our community every step of the way."

Professor Bell pointed to the voluntary separation scheme, centralised recruitment committee and encouraging staff to use their excess leave as ways the university is taking steps to reduce costs.

"The strong engagement of our staff during the recent consultation has been encouraging," she said.

National Tertiary Education Union ANU branch president Millan Pintos-Lopez said in a statement the vice-chancellor will cause more pain for staff.

"The cuts are cruel ... I worry about the future of the university, and what these cuts will mean for ANU staff and students," he said

"These changes started almost eight months ago, and many staff are still no clearer on whether their jobs will be impacted. The areas listed for change cover almost the entire university."

In March 2025, the union ran a no-confidence vote against the chancellor and vice-chancellor amid controversies and leadership disputes.

"The vice-chancellor is single-handedly destroying one of the world's great universities," university union ACT division secretary Lachlan Clohesy said in a statement.

"If ANU leadership can't be relied upon to give truthful evidence to the Senate, then it becomes difficult for staff and their union to trust what we are being told."

ACT independent senator David Pockock said in a statement, correspondence of concerns about ANU come to his office in "a constant flow".

"We have seen a large number of job cuts already and the prospect of yet further retrenchments will add to the widespread distress already felt across campus," he said.

While he said there was an acknowledgment that change was needed, management of this was concerning.

"I am stopped in the street about concerns with the ANU more than any other local issue," he said.

"The common theme is a lack of genuine consultation with staff about what is best for the future of this much-loved institution."

On the Renew ANU website, the university said it was "committed to keeping staff informed and engaged by providing timely, clear and accessible information".

It is anticipated the university will share the next financial progress update and reporting on operational savings achieved as part of Renew ANU in the coming weeks.

"We recognise that change can be challenging and support is available," the website said.

Staff can access free support and counselling through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which can be reached on 1800 808 374.