On January 27, Waterloo leaders Vivek Goel (President), Thomas Duever (Interim Vice-President, Academic and Provost) and Jacinda Reitsma (Vice-President, Administration and Finance) spoke to employees about the University’s budget situation and what we can expect in the coming year.
As your representative, it’s UWSA’s responsibility to ensure staff receive clear and timely information, and to advocate for transparency and compassion. We are focused not just on what decisions are made, but how they are made and experienced by staff, especially with the understandable anxiety around job security and organizational change given the scale of the financial challenges the University is facing.
This update reflects our perspective on the forum and what it means for staff.
1. UW’s financial pressures come largely from external funding constraints…
Government decisions like the tuition cut and ongoing tuition freeze have removed what could now be about $100M in annual revenue from the University’s budget, and international enrolment is likely to continue to decline thanks to nationally mandated caps.
While institutions like Waterloo are lobbying for increased provincial funding and the lifting of the tuition freeze, governments face many competing priorities. Vivek noted that, while universities need to make the case for the value of the post-secondary sector, any meaningful shift will require a sustained, collective effort to demonstrate the public value of universities.
Many of us feel a deep connection here and to post-secondary education broadly, as alumni or parents, or through the work we do every day. That connection is part of why this moment feels so heavy. Our focus will continue to be supporting staff and working to keep the human cost of these pressures front of mind.
2. …but UW’s model of service excellence is not financially sustainable.
Functional review data shows UW allocates a higher proportion of revenue to service functions than many peers. The reviews are finding duplicated work, far more generalist roles than comparators, and inconsistent decision making.
We know many staff are frustrated by the use of external benchmarking and consulting support during a time of job insecurity. We know that many such positions require deep institutional knowledge and specialized expertise that benchmarking alone cannot capture.
We’ll keep monitoring to ensure that policy is followed in all reorganizations and that efforts are made to minimize impacts to staff jobs.
3. Across‑the‑board cuts aren’t the answer.
Vivek acknowledged that sweeping cuts across all areas aren’t the best approach. Now that the University has more data to base decisions on, we’re seeing a shift to more targeted, strategic decisions.
We’ll be monitoring how the new budget model affects staff and advocate for the protection of already‑stretched areas, as Vivek suggested could happen, particularly where further reductions would undermine staff well-being and critical services.
4. The functional reviews are supporting decision making—but consultants aren’t making the decisions.
UniForum provides the data and benchmarking, and Nous consultants provide expertise we don’t have. But they don’t make decisions—that ultimately rests with the Functional Review Implementation Teams (FRITs) and UW leadership.
It’s important to understand that the functional reviews of IT, marketing & communication, finance, as well as internally-led reviews of human resources and research services, look at how these functions operate across all of UW, not just in the offices with those names.
While we expect further reductions in staff resulting from functional reviews, it’s not all about reorgs and jobs; the IT review has identified significant non-salary savings already, which will help save staff roles.
With an aggressive April 2026 timeline for marketing and communications, meaningful engagement with leaders and impacted teams will be essential. We commit to pushing for transparency and thoughtful implementation.
5. More staff reductions are expected this year, but redeployment is a priority.
165 staff and faculty positions have already been reduced (58 of them involuntarily), in addition to non-renewal of contracts, and leadership signaled that further reductions for both staff and faculty are unavoidable.
UW says it is working to redeploy people wherever possible, and we can confirm that dozens of staff have been moved into new roles to avoid job loss already.
We also hear clearly from staff that reductions mean fewer people are carrying more work under increasing pressure. While there were signals about the need to “do less with less,” how that translates into daily expectations matters. The UWSA will continue pressing for honest conversations about capacity, and the human impacts of this work. We can also provide support for staff affected by reorganizations.
6. Staff involvement matters—and leadership specifically asked for it.
UW encouraged staff to contribute ideas, participate in functional reviews, leverage OHD training and AI tools, collaborate across units, help identify things the university can stop doing, and take part in sustainability initiatives to reduce costs.
Again, what matters is how change happens. We will continue to create space for staff to share ideas, insights and concerns safely, and bring those perspectives forward in every conversation with UW leadership. Ahead of this forum, we compiled and shared staff feedback we received directly and were encouraged to see key themes we raised reflected in the discussion.
7. Salary negotiations will still happen, and our pensions are safe.
Jacinda noted that staff salary negotiations will begin once our Memorandum of Agreement review is done—and we are working to finish that as soon as we can. Despite the budget challenges, we expect to see a salary increase effective this May 1.
Jacinda also affirmed that our pension plan is in a strong financial position, which means that we can take the time to collectively review the cross-sector UPP and consider its merits without urgency. The university is still in the early phase of exploring the UPP, trying to understand how it might benefit employees and retirees.
The decision whether to join the UPP is still years away, and will be made by plan members, not by the university. We’ll make sure you’re well informed before that time comes.
8. This isn’t over yet.
Vivek closed by echoing Mark Carney’s Davos speech, saying that “we are in a time of significant rupture and change.” As Carney also noted, “nostalgia isn’t a strategy.” Waterloo staff are hardly resistant to innovation; we understand that post-secondary education is changing, and many of us are already engaged in doing our work differently and better.
Whatever happens, we are committed to serving staff with clarity and care. We will stay informed, press for timely and detailed communication, ask hard questions, and hold decision-makers accountable, while continuing to centre staff dignity and amplify your voices as the University navigates what’s next.