“DEVASTATED” lecturers have been left heartbroken at the prospect of losing their jobs at a popular Glasgow college.

As previously reported by the Glasgow Times, around 75 staff are set to be made redundant at the end of the school year at the City of Glasgow College.

Bosses at the college described the move as the “last resort” but the front line staff who are facing the chop say it has left them “completely demoralised” and worried about what it will mean for students.

Staff spoke anonymously to the Glasgow Times about the situation.

One who has worked there for two years was warned they’ll face just a two-week statutory pay offer if their job goes next month.

The lecturer said: “It’s just so, so demoralising. I know some of the staff could go back to their initial industry but I, personally, couldn’t so I really am gubbed.

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“You see the spending elsewhere, you see the incredibly high salaries of senior management – the principal is on six figures – and you think ‘how can they afford that but not us?’ Everyone is just really on edge right now and we’re worried about the students.”

Another added: “It’s just a gut punch when you’re being told you’re losing your job and then you can see job postings online for £60,000 salaries.

“I don’t earn as much as that, nowhere near, and I appreciate it’s a complex situation with more than meets the eye but there’s no way to look at it and not be just absolutely gutted."

Principal Paul Little has previously come under fire for the college’s high travel spending, including an £80,000 trip to Harvard University, in the US.

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However, bosses at the college have insisted previous budgets have no bearing on the difficult decisions it now faces, with the pandemic and current cost-of-living crisis coupled with the Scottish Government’s recent funding removal blamed for the cuts.

A City of Glasgow College spokesperson said: “All Scottish colleges face substantial funding and financial challenges from real-terms cuts, plus rising energy, inflation and staff costs.

“The claw back of £26 million that had been promised to the college sector in the recent Scottish Government budget exacerbates an already challenging financial landscape for the college.

“The college budget allocation is a flat cash settlement but with inflation running at 10%, this is a significant and unsustainable 10% real terms cut.

“As public sector bodies, colleges cannot build up reserves or retain surpluses, so our spend in previous years is unconnected to the purely external factors causing the college sector’s current financial challenges of real-term funding cuts, growing energy costs and spiralling inflation.”

Speaking after the news was announced, Mr Little said: “Emerging from the pandemic, Scotland’s public finances are under significant pressure.

“Colleges have always been resilient and adaptive tertiary institutions and will adjust to this new reality.

“I fully understand that this will be a very concerning period for those in the college, and the wellbeing of our students and staff is a priority, so we will be providing extra levels of support and assistance to those directly affected and minimising the impact on learning and support for our students, who are some of the most marginalised in society.”