00:02Behind the walls of SA's newly merged university,
00:05this is what staff are being told about their financial situation.
00:08The Vice-Chancellor painting a bleak financial picture
00:11as the university grapples with a federal clampdown on international students
00:15that's blown a $90 million hole in its budget.
00:18Details of that change had emailed to staff yesterday.
00:21Those over 55 eligible to apply for an early retirement package,
00:25some won't be replaced,
00:27and another round of voluntary redundancies may be considered.
00:30Nothing's forced, it's all voluntary,
00:32and I think it's pretty modest in the scheme of things.
00:35The university didn't front the cameras today,
00:37leaving the government to stand by the merger it backed with more than $450 million.
00:42I think the future is bright.
00:43We remain optimistic about what the future of this university is.
00:47The union also on board with the retirement scheme,
00:49expecting a strong take-up from those who've worked on the merger.
00:52The sheer amount of work is quite difficult to cope with on a daily basis.
00:58We are tired.
01:00A university trying to reduce its headcount
01:02and burnt-out staff looking for the exit.
01:05It's not exactly the picture the public was sold
01:07when this merger was being pushed three years ago.
01:10But the union says it's still too early to judge whether this merger was the right idea.
01:14And it's not clear either whether two smaller institutions
01:17could have weathered the financial storm any better.
01:22You can see the union and the union in that university.
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