A beleaguered university campus could be hit with more bad news as plans for new job losses are revealed.

The University of Greenwich has announced it intends to shed up to 319 staff.

It is understood a significant number of these roles could come from the Faculty of Engineering and Science, which is based at Chatham Maritime in Medway.

Greenwich shares the campus with the University of Kent, which itself has scaled back its presence there due to its ongoing battle with spiralling debts.

As previously reported, courses have been cancelled and hundreds of teaching staff offered voluntary redundancy.

Greenwich has moved to stress that the posts it is considering for redundancy are not full-time, and has described figures released by the University and College Union (UCU) as “misleading”.

However, a spokesman said cuts were unavoidable because of “significant financial challenges” - something disputed by the union which describes the university as a “rogue employer”.

The Greenwich changes could come into effect by August, although the institution has claimed no final decision has been made.

The other departments impacted are the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Greenwich Business School, both at the Greenwich campus. There is a third site at Eltham, south east London.

A university statement said: “Like many universities, Greenwich is facing significant financial challenges outside of our control.

“These affect the amount of cash we hold, which is what we use to pay our staff and our bills.

“We are therefore proposing organisational changes that will ensure the long-term sustainability of our university and protect jobs further down the line.

“The largest group of staff affected are hourly-paid lecturers, who are employed on fixed-term contracts, due to end in August.

“While the headline numbers quoted (based on headcount) sound large, it is important to remember many of these staff work a relatively small number of hours per year.

“Indeed, some support us with just a few guest lectures a year. Therefore, to use the headcount is misleading and creates a picture that is inaccurate.

“The overall staff number in 2024 was 3,052. The overall number of hourly-paid lecturers was 244.

“This equates to approximately 30 full-time staff. It is these numbers which appear to be causing some confusion.

Like many universities, Greenwich is facing significant financial challenges outside of our control

“In addition, we are planning on moving to increase the number of more secure permanent posts which will be offered to our current hourly-paid lecturers and which we believe is to everyone’s benefit.

“We are also increasing staffing in areas where we have growth to ensure our staffing numbers reflect our students’ needs.

“We will maintain a small group of associate academics to provide cover for unpredictable teaching shortages, such as sickness absence.

“We know this will feel like a difficult message, but it is essential we take sensible and proportionate action now to ensure we continue to be able to offer high-quality teaching and an outstanding student experience based on demand.”

The spokesman added it was not possible to break down exactly where the jobs would go, as some staff worked at multiple venues.

The university has about 35,000 students from more than 30 countries.

UCU has released figures which appear to contradict the university’s “challenging” financial situation, claiming it had “hundreds of millions of pounds in reserves”.

Union general secretary Jo Grady said: “Students are having their fees hiked, yet the University of Greenwich wants to sack hundreds of their teachers and instead bring in a pool of zero-hour academics, all while the chancellor’s pay continues to soar.

“These are actions of the very worst type of rogue employer, not a public institution of Greenwich’s standing.”

A Medway-based union representative and academic, who did not wish to be named, told KentOnline: “This announcement has caused widespread alarm among colleagues and students.

“These cuts are being proposed at a time when the university is in good financial health.

“It has reported consistent annual surpluses and is actively investing in new infrastructure projects, including a new building in the Greenwich campus and expansion of the Medway campus estate.

“Despite these expansion plans to accommodate more students, staff numbers are being targeted to reduce expenditure.”

The lecturer has written to Chatham and Aylesford MP Tristan Osborne, asking him to raise the issue with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.

They added: “The proposed approach to restructuring appears not only to be short-sighted, but also inconsistent with the university’s public commitment to student experience, research excellence and staff wellbeing.

“It sends a demoralising message to those of us who have worked hard to uphold the university’s reputation and to support our students through increasingly challenging circumstances.”

The university is currently in consultation with the recognised trade unions - UCU, Prospect, and Unison.

The historic Medway campus is also home to Greenwich’s Natural Resources Institute, Medway School of Pharmacy, and selected courses from the Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences.