Job security concerns at CSIRO continue to rise, with fears that researchers in Data61 will soon join the growing list of cuts being made across the organisation.
The rolling cuts – set in train with the announcement in February of a widespread restructure likely to cost several hundred CSIRO support roles – has gone on to engulf multiple business units including Health and Biosecurity (40 jobs to go), Agriculture and Food (30 slashed) and Manufacturing (5 gone).
However, it is in Data61 – CSIRO’s data and digital research section, formed by a merger with Australia’s Information and Communications Technology Research Centre of Excellence (NICTA) in 2015 – where a deteriorating funding position has driven months of speculation that more than one hundred jobs could be on the line.
Concerns first surfaced in March where Data 61 staff were briefed by executives that a funding shortfall could result in an operating reduction of up to 20 per cent, translating to significant job losses.
From there, the ongoing uncertainty resulted in CSIRO Chief Executive Doug Hilton, when questioned at Senate Estimates, to publicly disavow any plans to cut jobs in Data61.
This position was backed by business unit Director Jon Whittle who told Data61 staff during a briefing in June that “there’s no formal plan” to cut jobs “at this point in time.”
“But you know, I think realistically it is expected that there is likely to be some impact, but we haven’t worked through what that might look like yet. And we certainly haven’t made any final decisions on that,” Dr Whittle said.
However, senior management in Data61 have now completed preliminary consultation with Staff Association representatives, outlining budget woes and foreshadowing potential redundancies.
As the tally of cuts continues to climb – amid plummeting staff morale and falling confidence in the organisation’s strategic direction – Dr Hilton is under increasing pressure to change approach; lest he and the current Labor administration intend to preside over the largest loss of CSIRO jobs since the Abbot Coalition Government.
The impact of rolling job cuts – both confirmed and those feared to materialise – is having a corrosive effect on confidence across the organisation, as illustrated by the results of two recent staff surveys.
CSIRO’s own culture survey, conducted in May and released earlier this month – revealing a steep collapse in staff confidence when it comes to CSIRO’s vision, mission and strategic direction – has delivered a sharp rebuke for Dr Hilton and senior leaders.
Meanwhile a Staff Association snap poll (administered in May also and involving more than 650 participants) found almost 80 per cent of respondents reporting feeling less confident at the current state of job security at CSIRO.
The situation looks set to worsen, with Data61 likely to announce in coming weeks a plan to cut research positions and capability.
Elsewhere, the ongoing restructure of support roles across CSIRO is set to gather pace, a process that aims to cut enterprise costs by 25 per cent over the next twelve months, putting several hundred jobs at risk.
Staff Association Secretary Susan Tonks has written to Dr Hilton, urging a shift in policy to reverse the cuts, protect CSIRO research and rebuild trust.
