Heavy budget deficits at universities across the country have prompted institutions to make cuts to try and save money and members of their staff are now at risk of redundancy.

Bangor University is cutting its budget by £8.5 million to try to offset the deficit, now making a further 60 employees redundant after 110 took voluntary redundancy last year.

Cardiff University is also making staff cuts to deal with its £22.8 million deficit for last year, announcing that 350 jobs will be cut over the next five years.

Speaking to the BBC in December, the university said, ‘We are and will be working with the trade unions to ensure that we have their input as proposals are developed.

‘It’s very important that any proposals we put forward in order to meet the challenges are robust, fair and workable.’

Cuts across UK universities have faced backlash from those at risk of losing their jobs. Staff at Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University are holding strikes to protest the University’s current plan to cut 10% of jobs. The University of Kent has recently joined this list of institutions planning to make employees redundant to cope with a large budget deficit.

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, has pointed out the difficulties facing the university sector at this time, saying that the ‘competitive market, Brexit, dip in the number of 18-year-olds and huge policy changes’ have plunged many UK universities into financial uncertainty.

Hillman added that ‘a university going bust is more likely than at any other point in the last generation.’

It was revealed in recent months that three unnamed UK universities were on the brink of bankruptcy, relying on short-term loans to stay afloat.

Another unnamed institution was loaned an emergency £1 million by the Office for Students after it ran out of money to cover bills. This loan has since been repaid.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, criticised the government’s handling of the situation, saying that universities going bust would be a ‘disaster for thousands of students and staff’ and a ‘devastating blow for entire towns and cities.’

This comes after Universities Minister Chris Skidmore said: ‘There is an expectation that in a small number of cases providers may exit the market altogether as a result of strong competition.’

This increase in competition between universities has been linked to the trebling of tuition fees and the removal of the cap on student numbers.