Leaked consulting firm slide deck gives hints on ANU job cuts
A confidential document that outlines a proposed organisational restructure including job cuts in one of Australian National University’s key corporate areas, lists redeployment plans that potentially break rules in the enterprise agreement.
The slide deck created by consultants Nous Group was left in an ANU staff lunchroom and provided to AFR Weekend.
The document contains extremely sensitive information, including a proposed organisational chart for a new marketing division including the names and proposed positions of 22 current staff members. At least three people employed in the department do not have a corresponding position in the proposal.
On three of the six slides, are the words “38 FTE vs Nous 20-30”, possibly suggesting the consulting firm has proposed cutting the team of 38 full-time equivalent staff by up to almost 50 per cent.
The possible cuts come as vice chancellor Genevieve Bell pushes ahead with a major overhaul at the university, which will cut $250 million in costs by 2026. Students and staff are awaiting details on how the reorganisation will affect their areas, although a university employees union has estimated up to 650 jobs will go.
A spokeswoman for the university confirmed Nous was working for the university but refused to say if the proposed cuts to the marketing division would be replicated across other university departments or back office functions.
“ANU is on a journey to financial sustainability. We are rightly concerned about our long-term viability, and there is an urgency to act. There are many processes and changes underway to ensure we can continue delivering high-quality education and research for Australia,” she said repeating a previous statement in response to other questions.
The proposed restructure of the marketing division, as outlined in the document, has not yet been made public or available to affected staff.
One chart displays 16 roles marked “redeploy/recruit” beside a list of positions that exist in other parts of the university from which people could be redeployed.
National Tertiary Education Union ACT division secretary Lachlan Clohesy claimed this would break the rules of the enterprise agreement, which states that for people to be redeployed they first need their role to be made redundant.
“These documents reveal that ANU is lining up to sack people in a range of areas that they have not disclosed to staff or the union,” he said, adding positions must be “disestablished” before the employees can be offered redeployment.
“That requires the university to go through a prescriptive change management process in line with the enterprise agreement.”
The Nous document identifies staff for potential redeployment from across the university, including from the academic colleges, technology support and professional staff.
“These documents reveal that ANU is lining up to sack people in a range of areas that they have not disclosed to staff or the union,” Mr Clohesy said.
“ANU staff deserve better than to find out that their jobs are going through a document left in a lunchroom.”
Ahead of the academic year starting on Monday, the final restructuring plan has not been made public but some details have begun to emerge.
A confidential draft document seen by AFR Weekend shows the Research School of Economics has considered increasing tutorial sizes to a minimum of 30 students, which would be an increase on ANU’s historically low teaching ratios. In 2022, the ratio of academic staff to students was 11:1, according to the federal education department.
Separately, an email from Bronwyn Parry, dean of the College of Social Sciences, to academic staff on Thursday, noted that “as we move through the university’s renewal process, we will inevitably experience some changes in pedagogical delivery”.
Seemingly anticipating a backlash from students over increased tutorial sizes and a possible decline in academic support, Professor Parry also advised staff to “be direct and factual, avoid speculation on the reasons for any changes in teaching” and “direct students to the Renew ANU website for official updates”.
Professor Matthew Gray, director of the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, told staff in late January that his 2025 budget for casual and sessional staff had been reduced from $160,000 to $53,467 – or by two-thirds.
This would lead, he said, to the cancellation of some courses and caps on enrolments in others. Tutorials would have about 25 students and advised staff not to “over-assess” assignments.