Around 200 jobs could be lost at Bangor University in a bid to fill a financial deficit of £15 million.

Bangor University told staff and students on 19 February about measures being taken to address financial challenges “to ensure long-term sustainability”.

“We are targeting £15 million in savings,” the spokesperson added, “primarily through a voluntary severance scheme, while working to minimise compulsory redundancies.

“We are also controlling non-pay expenditure, reducing our estate footprint, and maintaining strict oversight of vacant posts.

“Additionally, our investment in the Business School demonstrates confidence in our future and supports financial recovery. These actions are necessary to align costs with income and secure the university's stability.”

Arfon MS Siân Gwenllian said: “A financial deficit on this scale is extremely worrying, not only for the university’s staff and 10,000-strong student body, but for the wider community also.

“The university is a vital part of the local economy, employing around 2,000 staff, and any cuts are going to have a disastrous impact.”

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts said: “The worth we put on education reflects our commitment to future generations, and if the Welsh Labour Government fails to come to the rescue of our universities, they are leaving those future generations down.”

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MS Mabon ap Gwynfor said: “As a former student at Bangor, I personally know the value of the education I received there, its economic value, as well as its invaluable cultural worth.

“Furthermore, Bangor University’s historical significance, largely built through public contributions by ordinary quarrymen and farmers makes this announcement today all the more devastating.

“This community, all those years back, invested in a vision of a future where education for the masses would broaden our horizons. The Welsh Labour Government must now show the same commitment to investing in our people’s future.”