Staff at Ulster University have been told that as many as 450 positions are under threat as the institution seeks to make savings of £25m.
The announcement comes as the university’s most recent financial accounts reveal it is running a deficit of £20.2m, despite recording an income of more than £300m.
Employees were notified of the potential redundancies during a meeting with Vice-Chancellor, Prof Paul Bartholemew, on Wednesday.
It is understood that the university is seeking to reduce its workforce through voluntary redundancies, though staff were warned that compulsory redundancies could not be ruled out.
The university operates campuses in Belfast, Coleraine, and Derry, alongside a sports village at the former Jordanstown site and branch campuses in London, Birmingham and Manchester. It also runs an international campus in Qatar.
Taking to social media, People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said: “This is a short-sighted and disgraceful decision. Ulster University should reconsider this.”
An Ulster University spokesperson said: “Redundancies across the Higher Education Sector have become unavoidable. To date, more than 100 institutions across the UK have downsized their staffing complement.
“Ulster University has sought to hold off on making redundancies while continuing to work with the Department for the Economy, through their reviews, on possible changes to the HE funding model in Northern Ireland.
“It has recently been made clear to us that a sustainable funding model is not going to be forthcoming, and regretfully, we must now act to reduce our costs.”