At the University of Friborg (UNIFR), the rectorate is considering cuts in central services and faculties. Staff are worried because certain positions will not be replaced when people leave.
Faced with the canton’s budgetary difficulties and the consolidation of the Confederation’s finances, the UNIFR will have to tighten its belt, announces La Liberté.
According to the daily, central services and faculties will have to save 750,000 francs from 2027. “The exact amount is not yet known, because the process is underway,” declared Marius Widmer, spokesperson for the institution. The latter, however, articulated the figure of several million per year for the entire establishment.
The university explained that the dialogue with the canton continues. The latter was open to possible discussions for the 2026 and subsequent budgets and the establishment strongly hopes that the federal and cantonal financial situation will become clearer by then. Because UNIFR is undergoing at the same time the canton’s savings program and the re-examination of the tasks and subsidies of the Confederation.
No layoffs
Marius Widmer confirmed that not all positions can be replaced upon departure. “There is, however, no freeze in the renewal of positions, but each faculty will have to set up a planning committee by the end of the year, which will have to set priorities in the way of filling one or more the other function.
The spokesperson added that there is no danger of layoffs. UNIFR employs around 2,500 people for a total of around 10,000 students.
University staff are worried. The Public Services Union (SSP) announced that it had been contacted by several university employees. “Everyone was caught cold. The staff did not expect to receive such information,” reports trade unionist Gaétan Zurkinden in La Liberté.
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