Manchester escapes Open University axe

MANCHESTER has escaped the Open University job cuts after it announced plans to close its Leeds city centre office as part of a “catastrophic” rationalisation of its nationwide estate.

Up to 49 jobs are understood to be at risk by the proposed closure of its regional site in a five-storey building in Trevelyan Square, Boar Lane, Leeds.

It is part of a wider restructuring of the organisation, which has almost 200,000 students, as it seeks to close its centres in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Gateshead, London and Oxford.

“Axing almost 500 staff across seven centres would be catastrophic and decimate the Open University’s ability to provide the kind of local support that students need,” said Open University’s University and College Union branch president Pauline Collins.

“We are unconvinced by the university’s talk of staff relocating, especially as this will mean hours spent in the car or on the train just trying to get to and from work.”

The Open University proposes to have three larger centres in England, based in Manchester, Milton Keynes and Nottingham, and national centres in Belfast, Dublin, Cardiff and Edinburgh.

Peter Horrocks, vice-chancellor of the Open University, said: “This is a difficult decision and I fully recognise the impact it will have on many of our staff, but we cannot afford to stay still.

“This recommendation, if approved, would allow us to enhance student support in a way that’s simply not possible in our current office network, and offer our students the sort of support they expect and deserve.”

The proposals will go before the Open University’s council in November and could be implemented by February 2017.