250 jobs under threat as Birmingham college cuts costs
Up to 250 jobs could be axed by a major college which has campuses in the Black Country and Kidderminster under cost-cutting plans.
Birmingham Metropolitan College says it is being forced to slash the number of posts due to a reduction in funding.
The college which runs sites in Stourbridge, Brierley Hill, Great Barr and Kidderminster, needs to reduce the workforce by between 200 and 250 positions.
Bosses said today they hoped this could be done through voluntary redundancy.
Andrew Cleaves, principal and chief executive at the college, said it was facing 'challenging times' with funding having been cut by a third in recent years.
But he has vowed that current students wouldn't be affected by the move and said they were aiming to continue to offer the same range of courses.
It's not yet known exactly how many posts will go at Stourbridge's Hagley Road site, Brierley Hill's Art and Design Centre and Advanced Technology Centre, Kidderminster Academy or the James Watt campus in Great Barr.
Mr Cleaves said: "These are challenging times for the education sector and Birmingham Metropolitan College has not been unaffected.
"Government funding has reduced by a third in recent years and greater competition in the sector, combined with demographic factors, has put pressure on student numbers.
"These conditions have highlighted the need to focus on efficiency, by reducing costs where we can and improving the way we do things.
"Like other further education colleges, we need to reduce our operating costs and ensure the college is on a firm financial footing from which to grow in the future.
"We have informed staff that we need to reduce costs significantly, and regrettably, around 200 to 250 positions across our colleges could be made redundant by the end of the academic year. We are hopeful that any redundancies will be achieved voluntarily.
"Current students will not be affected and we are also aiming to protect our course offering in the future.
"The efficiency drive we are currently undertaking will leave us better placed to form even stronger partnerships and deliver excellent educational services in the future."
The news comes just weeks after the college officially unveiled a £5million makeover of the Hagley Road site in Stourbridge with a stylish new building offering centres of excellence for engineering, health and social care and early years.
Meanwhile the James Watt campus in Great Barr is undergoing an £8.5million transformation to provide new teaching space.
