On Mar. 12, 13, and 16, a total of 45 employees, consisting of six teaching faculty members, four non-teaching faculty members, and 35 staff were laid off at UFV, in efforts to mitigate a deficit of over $20 million. Greg Mather, the president of the UFV Faculty and Staff Association (FSA) spoke with The Cascade about their recent press release concerning the impact of the layoffs, the remaining $2.4 million deficit for 2026-2027, and support services available for affected employees.
“Decisions were made on positions that were either not going to be filled … as well as some other roles that they’ve identified [as] redundant, or no longer necessary because of the budget crisis.”
Mather explained that UFV has a Senior Resource Allocation Committee (SRAC) that is composed of senior administrators. They consult the current budget to help determine what can be cut. He added that despite the difficult situation, the university was considerate while informing employees of the layoffs.
Mather explained that the personnel were told by their supervisors an hour or two prior that they were going to have a meeting about their jobs, but they had a pretty good idea of what it was about.
“I think most people entering that space had a good sense of what the news would be, but it still comes as a shock when you actually hear those words.”
As a union member, UFV employees have different options after a layoff, Mather explained. This includes a bumping option where if a qualified employee is laid off, they have five days to decide if they want to bump someone with less seniority, but who holds a position within the same pay range that they qualify for. If this happens, the bumped employee is then either laid off, able to bump someone else, or is presented with other courses of action such as taking vacancy positions. He clarified this further in a follow up email:
“Every permanent employee laid off during this round had the choice of recall or severance, with most being offered a bumping option.”
Mather shared that UFV employed different strategies to help reduce the deficit and number of layoffs such as cutting incidental spending, and tasking the SRAC with approving purchases over a certain amount. They also offered an early retirement incentive, which about 40 employees agreed to.
While UFV has managed to lower their deficit considerably, they still have to deal with $2.4 million. Mather clarified that so far, there have been no concrete plans or decisions made about how this will be resolved, and worries that any further cuts could affect core services that the University provides.
“We’re doing some surgery… we’re into the skin, into the flesh. This next round will be into the bones, so it’ll be the core services we provide. I think it’s gonna be a challenging year for us.”
For affected employees, support services were available, such as the member support sessions that were offered alongside the budget meetings, town halls, and the layoffs.
“It was just a space for folks to come ask their questions. We had people who were not impacted by layoffs, but were just really feeling it, or were worried about their colleagues. We had other folks that attended and asked their questions, not knowing that the next day they were going to be laid off. So, I’m really proud of the community coming together and offering that support for folks.”
Mather added that as a union, all employees have access to Homewood health, which includes professional counselling, financial services, and more.
“We provided a package to all the layoff employees that gave information on BC211, which is a non-profit that offers similar services that Homewood does, but in the community, [it] gets you access to supports that are available.”
Employees also were able to speak to an on-site counsellor during the layoff period with drop-in availability.
Layoffs, Mather said, may also affect students’ tuition. While the domestic tuition has a cap of 2 per cent increases per year for now, it’s the international students who are not afforded the same luxury, and their fees have increased over the past year. At the budget town hall on Mar. 5, it was announced that for continuing international students, fees have been raised by 4 per cent and new international students will pay 6 per cent more.
Mather also pointed out that with all these layoffs, it remains uncertain how the level of education that is given to students will be maintained, especially when fees remain the same or increase.
Mather said that FSA is advocating to the provincial and federal governments to support the post-secondary educational system and there is a petition letter that people can fill out and/or sign.
Mather requested that students be empathetic to employees affected by the layoffs, especially those who have worked at UFV for decades. Mather also encouraged students to be bold and find out more about the deficit as events unfold.
“I would ask students [to] raise their voice and ask for information from the institution about budgets, and if there is another round of layoffs, or budget cuts, how is the university going to ensure that our quality of education, the services we provide, and the small class sense of community that UFV is, is maintained?”
For students that want to show their support, Revolutionary Communist Party will be hosting a town hall for students and faculty on Apr. 2 from 3:30-5 p.m. in A233 in response to the layoffs.
Rachel is working towards a BA with a concentration in English and Theatre. She has been employed at The Cascade since Fall 2021 as a Staff Writer and a Jr. News Editor. Currently, she is the sectional News Editor and enjoys meeting and interviewing people as well as taking long walks in nature. Rachel also likes to stay up to date on the latest trends and informs students through her fashion column entitled Campus Fashion.