Up to 47 research staff at the University of Liverpool are to be laid off in May as part of reorganisation plans, union leaders say.
The University and College Union (UCU) say university management wrote to them last week over plans to cut up to 47 of the ‘worst performing’ academics in its Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.
Academics will be judged by the University’s own assessment criteria, which the union claims is based on a similar management approach as Amazon’s so-called "rank and yank" review system.
Staff will face compulsory redundancy unless they accept a voluntary severance package which they had previously rejected in Summer 2020, the union says.
UCU Liverpool branch president Anthony O’Hanlon said: “The University of Liverpool is attempting to utilise ‘rank and yank’ practices to get rid of its perceived low performers.
"This brutal assault on jobs is more akin to the ruthless managerialism you would expect to see at a big corporate firm. It is not being proposed out of financial necessity."
The Faculty of Health and Life Sciences is part of ‘Liverpool STOP COVID’, a city-wide group whose aim is to decrease the burden of Covid locally, nationally and globally.
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Professor Louise Kenny, Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Liverpool, said changes were coming as part of a plan known as "Project SHAPE."
She added: “Project SHAPE, which will bring about a major realignment of the University’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, was implemented in order to help tackle the extreme health inequalities and unmet health needs in the Liverpool City Region, both of which have been brought to the fore throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The development and implementation of the project has been a long and carefully considered process and we have engaged comprehensively with colleagues during the 18 months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the challenges facing our Faculty and what we need to do to evolve.
"These conversations have also continued whilst colleagues have been working remotely. The changes that we have already implemented, and propose to continue with through the more limited second phase of the project, will also allow us to re-establish a strong connection between our research capabilities and performance, and the teaching provided to students by our academic colleagues.
"We understand this is a period of significant change in many different ways, and we want to work closely with all colleagues to answer questions, allay concerns, and offer support and guidance where needed.
“We will continue to engage comprehensively with colleagues and address specific concerns throughout the consultation phase and, as such, it would be inappropriate for us to comment any further as our own staff should be the first to receive any updates or information not already available.”
The Union said laying off 47 staff from the faculty during a pandemic flew in the face of Project SHAPE’s first objective - to respond to the needs of the community.
Mr O'Hanlon added: "The attempts by the university to claim this attack on jobs is part of its civic responsibility to address health outcomes in the city will not wash with the people of Liverpool.
"This is the latest in a long line of catastrophic errors of judgement from senior managers at the university and UCU will be fighting against these redundancies and the pernicious criteria they are attempting to justify them with."
