Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) has announced the elimination of 22 jobs from support staff and management as a result of a prospective $25 million budget deficit on a $200 million operating budget. They will also cut the work hours of five other positions. The types of jobs were not disclosed due to privacy issues.</p>
The current staffing cuts, along with substantial cuts to operation costs, will take approximately $10 million off of the deficit, leaving $15 million still left to be dealt with.
Though no faculty have been eliminated so far, WLU officials have said that cuts will be made to faculty once the number of voluntary retirements has been determined in April or May.
Laurier is facing a decreasing enrolment, aging buildings, and increasing pensions. These issues have added up with cuts in government funding, and constraints on raising tuition that every post-secondary institution in the area has faced.
According to Dennis Huber, VP administration and finance, UW has not yet completed the budget for 2015-2016. It will be presented by the provost on March 18.
