CSIRO moves ahead with plan to cut hundreds of jobs
Australia’s national science agency has defended its ability to deliver research and technology, confirming plans that almost a quarter of job losses will come from a key environmental unit.
Last November the CSIRO said up to 350 research positions would be cut due to “the rising cost of doing science”.
Initially, nearly half of those jobs were expected to come from the agency’s environmental research unit, which includes climate adaptation science.
However, agency executives confirmed during budget forecasts on Tuesday evening that 92 staff in the unit were affected and 86 positions would be made redundant.
CSIRO acting director general Elanor Huntington said there had been a change in the “composition” of redundancies.
“We have received a tremendous amount of feedback throughout this process, and we have read and considered all of it very carefully,” he said at the public hearing.
“We have a six-step major change process. We have now reached step five… we have approved the final set of changes with all affected research units.”
Professor Huntington said the organization would need to find an additional $135 million each year over the next decade to be financially sustainable.
The cuts have faced widespread criticism, including from senior climate scientists and international experts, who claim the CSIRO’s science capacity will be severely affected.
Peter Mayfield, the CSIRO’s chief environmental officer, said the administration was being “very careful” about where the cuts would be made.
He said the agency remains comfortable that it can meet the obligations of a major project that provides forecasts on climate change.
“We’re not running away from anything. We’re actively working to make sure we’re doing well on climate science,” Dr Mayfield said.
The federal budget handed out in May allocated more than $387 million to the CSIRO over the next four years.
The Community and Public Sector Alliance has warned that the extra funding is not enough to stop the science agency cutting staff.
Union secretary Susan Tonks previously said 1,150 people had been made redundant at the CSIRO since February 2024.
