By Anette Marcher, AAU Communication. Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication

In recent weeks, cutbacks and dismissals have been announced in several places at AAU. University Director Søren Lind Christiansen answers questions about the university's financial situation and the prospect of further cutbacks.

Two departments (BUILD, and Materials and Production) are currently facing major cutbacks, which may lead to dismissals. In the joint administration for Politics and Society and Sociology and Social Work, dismissals are also required as a result of cutbacks and reorganisation. And now you are also announcing a major reorganisation of the communication area with the risk of dismissals. What is the reason for this?

First, let me say that the different processes you mention are happening for very different reasons. In some places, it’s the desire to create a better, more efficient organisation. Elsewhere, it’s about budgets that are not consistent enough. There is no getting away from the fact that the university's finances are under pressure.

Is the economy really under such pressure that dismissals are necessary?

Yes, in some places it is. Elsewhere, as I said, it’s just as much about creating a better, more efficient organization.

A better, more efficient organisation? How do you create that by laying off staff? After all, it means fewer resources.

In communication, we are doing this, for example, by pooling resources in a new joint communication department. Today, communication work is very scattered throughout the organisation, and this means that we aren’t getting the maximum out of our efforts. There is no common strategy and prioritisation, and we have many generalists and few specialists.

By pooling resources, we can create a strong professional communication environment based on common strategies, concepts and templates. This will result in prioritised and more professionalised communication with greater impact, and our expectation is that we can do this with fewer resources.

But basically, this is about economics?

No, not just economics. But of course, we cannot avoid the fact that the university's finances are under pressure and that we must be cognizant of where we can use resources in the best possible way.

No amount has been designated for cutbacks in the communication area, but in the departments it’s about saving millions. How many staff members will be let go in total?

We cannot say anything precise about that yet. The processes and mitigation measures are still ongoing, and in the communication area, it also depends on how staff member profiles fit in with the staffing needs of the new joint communication department.

But you have notified the Regional Labour Market Council. This must mean that you expect more than 30 staff members to be let go within a period of 30 days?

Yes. But, as I said, we do not know for sure yet.

Can you understand if staff members in the rest of the organisation are now worried that their department or unit will also be hit by cutbacks and staff dismissals?

Yes, of course I understand that.

Will they be?

Well, we must constantly optimise and professionalise our organisation, and this can – and will – mean continuous changes. We will monitor the university's finances very, very closely so that we can intervene as soon as something is about to move in the wrong direction. And with the economic outlook facing the universities today, it is likely that cutbacks will come in the future.

What is putting so much pressure on AAU's finances?

It’s the same things that the rector has previously pointed out: Rising prices on things like electricity have increased our costs, and the turmoil in the financial markets has negatively affected the return on our investments. After all, we are obligated to invest our free liquidity, and although falling rates of return do not directly affect day-to-day operations, it does put pressure on finances.

At the same time, we face economic uncertainty in our educational activities. Year cohorts of young people are getting smaller, so we expect a 12 percent drop in the number of students over the next three years. This means smaller taximeter funding. In addition, we don’t yet know the consequences of the government's proposal to halve a large number of Master's programmes.

The rector has also said that it’s not satisfactory that the equity will be reduced to six million by the end of 2025 because this limits strategic flexibility. Why not just drop some of the strategic initiatives and spend the money on regular operations instead?

Because that would mean that the university doesn’t develop. This is not sustainable at a time when big changes are coming ever faster one after another, and where there is only an even greater need for the core services we provide: research, education and knowledge collaboration. As a university, we must move with the times – even if the economy is a challenge.