Life Sciences names 60 staff to be sacked

60 staff members of the Faculty of Life Science were given their notice yesterday Wednesday, with 10 staff going down to less than full time, and one member of staff moved to other tasks.

17 of those who are to lose their jobs are teachers or researchers, 43 are administrative or technical staff. The new figures are according to the Faculty of Life Science newsletter.

The Faculty stated in late 2010 that it will be forced to cut DKK 48 million from its 2011 budget, and flagged already then, that it would have to cut back on staff numbers.

Fired staff now notified at Health faculty

The staff hoped until the end to keep their jobs. But it was all in vain. Today Wednesday, the unfortunate ones who will get sacked were informed that they no longer have a job.

According to the information given to the university board at the meeting yesterday, around 50 administrative jobs will be cut at the Faculty of Health 6 December.

The round of cutbacks is due to a former government demand for DKK 80 million lower administration costs. 14 staff have agreed to resign voluntarily, 17 will work a reduced number of hours and 17 will get sacked.

Sack before Christmas

Meaning of LIFE proved elusive

It started with a change of rooms. The name of the new department, which now had to be sought out, was as long and complex as the route through the driving snow to get there.

When finally the location of the Faculty of Life Science’s budget discussion was found, the crowd milling outside were grumbling in a language which is now so familiarly unfamiliar. That is when the old feeling sank in, that heavy consignment to prospective ennui, as I realised that the next hour will be about as enlightening as a glow-worm’s fart.

Humanities to axe 35 jobs

35 full-time staff are to lose their jobs at the Faculty of Humanities in 2011.

This is according to faculty Dean, Kirsten Refsing, who made the announcement at a Faculty Collaboration Committee (FSU) meeting Friday 12 November.

Next year, the Faculty will have a shortfall of around DKK 15 million, and the coming job cuts will make up the deficit, writes Refsing in a circular to employees at the faculty

Job cuts to be decided this month

»As yet, it is undecided which tasks will be discontinued, or given a lower priority, and which jobs will be cut,« writes the Dean.

University repeats staff cut warning

While there are no plans for major cuts in staff in the University of Copenhagen in 2011, »local adjustments at some faculties and within University Administration can occur,« the university's Communication Office writes in a release on the intranet site KUnet.

»It is already certain that minor adjustments need to be made in administration, within reasonable limits. This process will begin in 2011, and the preparations will therefore already start this autumn,« the Communication Office writes.

Calm before storm

Few internationals at cutbacks demo

It is impossible to know exactly how many international students were among the thousands who waved banners or sported face paints at the demonstration June 8 in Frue Plads.

However, chairperson of Student Council (DSR) of the Faculty of Life Sciences Ida I. Engelund estimates that there were very few:

»We from the Faculty of Life Sciences met up before the demonstration, and there were no international students,« says Ida I. Engelund.

Posters and banners in Danish

Life Sciences fear subjects will be slashed

When University of Copenhagen tightened its belt at the start of 2010, the Faculty of Life Science was squeezed so hard that it was left gasping for breath.

48 staff members were laid off, and a further 52 took a voluntary redundancy package, more than at any other faculty at the university.

Now, following the Rector’s announcement that the university will have to shed 4-700 jobs due to the government’s austerity package, student representatives at the Faculty of Life Sciences fear further cutbacks and even the loss of smaller subject areas.

Stretched to the limit

Rector: University faces cuts of 4-700 staff

The University of Copenhagen can look forward to cutbacks totalling at least DKK 200-300 million in 2013 - the equivalent of 400-700 positions in the coming years. This is the stark warning that was sent out at 3.45 pm Wednesday in a circular to all staff and students by the Rector of the University of Copenhagen Ralf Hemmingsen.

The surprising circular by Rector comes after the Danish Government and its supporting Danish People’s Party agreed on terms for a reconstruction of the Danish economy Tuesday.

82 employees named for layoffs

University management has now sufficient overview of the consequences of the DKK 60-70 million cutbacks in the 2010 budget, that Rector Ralf Hemmingsen was able to brief board members Tuesday.

82 employees have been named for dismissal, while a further 35 have accepted voluntary redundancy.

Before Christmas, university management had announced cutbacks corresponding to 130 staff. However, as the dust settles following the latest round of job-losses, it seems that a total of 117 employees will be leaving the university.

Politicians critical of University cash stash

Danish politicians don't like the idea that universities are accumulating large capital reserves. This is after universities, including the University of Copenhagen, reported large profits on their annual accounts in this and other media.