Jobs Under Threat at Nottingham University
I saw this picture on a LinkedIn post from a former member of staff in Physics at Nottingham University:
It shows a notieboard in the foyer of the Physics Building, which houses the School of Physics & Astronomy. Earlier this week members of staff received letters informing them that their jobs are “at risk of redundancy”. As an act of solidarity the staff members concerned showed posted their letters publicly. I don’t know the names of the people who have received these letters – and if I did I wouldn’t share them here – but there are 17 letters.
I also know that the undergraduate course in Mathematical Physics, taught jointly with the School of Mathematics, has been suspended and will not admit any students. I taught on this course for many years when I was at Nottingham University (from 1999 to 2007).
The threat of redundancy is not specific to Physics. It seems almost 2,700 individuals across the University have received such notices and the University is attempting to cut 600 positions. Not all those in receipt of an “at risk” letter will actually be made redundant, but the intention is clearly to scare people into leaving in order to save on redundancy payments.
More details can be found here.
The background to this disaster is explained here. In summary, the University’s current financial meltdown is caused by the actions of the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, Prof. Shearer West,, who presided over the hare-brained decision to purchase a large new campus. None of the “at risk” staff is at fault., but they will have to bear the burden of management ineptitude. You would think that the people responsible for this fiasco would be held to account and pay at least some of the price for their incompetence. But no. Prof. Shearer West left her post in 2024 to take up the position of Vice-Chancelor at the University of Leeds on a salary of more than £330K, leaving others to clean up the mess.
I fear more such news is coming. The UK Higher Education sector is shrinking rapidly. Nottingham University won’t be the last.
In the Dark 
May 14, 2026 at 9:33 am
Thank you, Peter, for highlighting the depressing situation at Nottingham.
<I>”You would think that the people responsible for this fiasco would be held to account and pay at least some of the price for their incompetence”</I>
Indeed. And while Shearer West’s culpability is clear, it’s also worth noting that three current members of the University Executive Board — two PVCs and the deputy Vice-Chancellor — also sat on UEB throughout the Castle Meadow Campus debacle.
One might hope that these senior leaders would show a modicum of integrity, reflect on their own roles and contributions, and accept at least some measure of accountability. Instead, as ever, the burden falls on staff who had absolutely no part in creating this crisis.