Dundee University academics are to be balloted on industrial action.
Management are trying to shed as many as 120 staff to reduce pressure on budgets but face opposition from the UCU academics’ union.
The UCU said: “Unfortunately, despite a great deal of opposition and concern by staff and students, the senior management team, led by principal Pete Downes, has decided to go ahead with cutting academic posts.
“At a negotiating meeting on Friday, Dundee UCU and the other campus unions were told that court is to be asked to set up a redundancy committee. This is the first step required for the university to make staff redundant.
“We have been told that the university does not have the financial surplus to fulfil the principal’s vision for the future and that because of that staff must go.
“Our argument is that they are punishing hard-working, dedicated lecturers for the mistakes of senior staff.”
The union said it had been told that staff at the level of dean or above would be excluded from the cuts and that most of those going would be teaching staff.
Its statement continued: “Those who are paid the most and are responsible for the situation we are in are protected and those who deliver the education so vital to the university are being targeted to lose their jobs.
“We do not think that this is acceptable. We have to stand together as a university community and support our colleagues who are under threat.
“We have now reluctantly issued a ‘failure to agree’ notice to the university. This means that UCU is in dispute with the university over their use of targeted cutting of posts and the setting up of a redundancy committee.
“We are in the process of organising a ballot for industrial action.”
On Tuesday, the university court heard details of the voluntary severance scheme being set up. Management had previously said they would do all they could to avoid compulsory redundancies but did not rule them out.
A university spokesman said: “We are currently engaged in the budget-setting process for next year but it is clear that there is an acute need to take action to ensure our financial security and sustainability.
“A review of the delivery of science teaching across life sciences, medicine and dentistry has proposed a new structure, which will offer more coherent teaching and an improved student experience across the undergraduate programmes.
“The proposed new structure, which is set to be introduced for the 2014-15 academic session, will see the number of full-time equivalent posts required to deliver science teaching reduced from 28 to 14.
“A voluntary severance scheme is already open to all academic staff. To enable the university to fully consult with staff and advise them that their posts may be at risk, court has approved a redundancy committee.
“The establishment of a redundancy committee does not necessarily mean we will make compulsory redundancies, which remain a last resort.
“Seventeen applications for voluntary severance are currently being considered. The scheme remains open to academic staff across the university and our target is still to reduce staffing by around 80 to 120 posts.”