Varsity has exposed programmes of job cuts across three Cambridge colleges that could lead to over 100 non-academic workers losing their jobs.

At the same time, 21 of the 31 colleges have stated they do not have plans to make compulsory redundancies in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Queens’, was the first college to admit plans to make redundancies, after Varsity revealed leaked documents detailing proposals to lay off 32 members of non-academic staff.

At the time, a staff member facing redundancy told Varsity: “It’s very stressful and emotional. In the middle of a global pandemic, losing your job with a month’s notice is so scary. The students have been amazing, it means so much to us all when we see students fight on our behalf.”

Queens’ College is the 14th richest Cambridge college, with endowment and investment assets that have grown from £69.09m in 2015 to £91.23m in 2019. According to the College accounts, the three highest earners in Queens’ ⁠– the President, Senior Bursar, and Senior Tutor ⁠– in total earned £315,000 in 2019, up £10,000 since the previous year.

In response to the redundancies, a Queens’ Solidarity Campaign has been launched alongside the trade union UNITE. The Solidarity Campaign told Varsity: “It is disgraceful that the first action of Queens’ is to sack the lowest paid workers who cook the food, clean the floors, maintain the buildings and hold the college together.”

Following the launch of the Campaign, a Queens’ spokesperson said: “the College is reviewing its staffing structure as a result of the ongoing pandemic. Our priority in this process, which is yet to conclude fully, is our employees and our community, and for that reason we are unable to comment further at this point.”

After an anonymous tip-off to Varsity, Downing College confirmed that 27 non-academic staff had been made redundant; 15% of their total non-academic workforce of 182 staff.

Downing is the 12th richest Cambridge college with an endowment of £49.8 million and consolidated net assets of £191.6m. Downing employs seven members of staff with salaries over £60,000, with three earning between £80,000 and £90,000 and one member of staff earning over £110,000.

In response to the confirmation of a second college making significant redundancies, Cambridge UNITE told Varsity: “Once again, a wealthy Cambridge college has shown no mercy in their brutal treatment of the hard working and faithful staff that are the backbone of the institution.”

At the end of September, Varsity broke a headline story leaking Trinity’s plans to make at least 45 housekeeping staff redundant. If the College follows through with these plans, 50% of the housekeeping department would be made redundant.

Trinity is the richest Oxbridge college and is wealthier than every UK university other than Manchester, Edinburgh and Imperial College London, with a total endowment of nearly £1.3 billion.

A Varsity investigation following these major revelations has now confirmed that two-thirds of Cambridge colleges are not planning to make any compulsory redundancies.

The twenty-one colleges that have stated they do not plan to make compulsory redundancies are: Christ’s, Churchill, Clare, Clare Hall, Emmanuel, Girton, Gonville & Caius, Homerton, Jesus, King’s, Lucy Cavendish, Murray Edwards, Newnham, Pembroke, Peterhouse, Robinson, St Catharine’s, St Edmund’s, St John’s, Trinity Hall, and Wolfson.

The investigation is yet to confirm whether seven colleges - Corpus Christi, Darwin, Fitzwilliam, Hughes Hall, Magdalene, Selwyn and Sidney Sussex - are making redundancies.

Cambridge University Justice 4 Workers Campaign said: “This investigation clearly shows that redundancies are not an essential course of action for Cambridge colleges. Instead they are a horrific financial response by three Colleges who have placed the costs of the pandemic on the lowest-paid and most precarious staff. This is unacceptable.”

“Students and staff will be campaigning together to fight back against the wealthy college managers who have sacked staff while keeping their own wine budgets and six-figure salaries.”

Gonville & Caius clarified that they had hired new staff, while Clare ran an appeal to Fellows to raise money for zero hours and casual staff during the lockdown.

In the case of King’s College, six staff from the Maintenance Department undertook voluntary redundancy by offering to leave or retire. Murray Edwards also emphasised that no compulsory redundancies had been made, but did not respond to questions asking if voluntary redundancies had been made.

It has also been reported that the Cambridge University Press (CUP), the publishing department of the University, is consulting on redundancies in two areas of the business. In academic publishing, it is expected this will come through voluntary redundancies, however in the CUP’s technology department there may be compulsory redundancies.

In response to this news, an ’Emergency Meeting to Stop the Job Cuts’ is planned for Wednesday the 30th of September. The coalition behind the event includes: Cambridge Unite, Cambridge UCU, Cambridge Labour, Cambridge Justice 4 Workers Campaign and Cambridge Defend Education.

A spokesperson from the Coalition said: “This is a momentous moment in student-worker organising. While managers try to divide us, we will respond by uniting to ensure the costs of the pandemic are met by cuts to the six figure salaries, wine budgets and huge endowments - not the livelihoods of the lowest paid workers”

“Colleges must recognise trade unions, listen to workers’ concerns and ensure security over the coming months. Join us on Wednesday as we plan how to fight back.”

Update (06/10/2020): Since publication Varsity have been contacted by Queens' and advised that Queens' are not making any compulsory redundancies