Support staff at Bradford College could face redundancy as the college looks to move to its new building later this year.

Over the last week, support staff in various departments have been called to meetings to inform them about job cuts. The college has yet to announce the number of job losses, and said it is consulting with staff over the issue.

One member of staff, who wished to remain anonymous, told the T&A that among the staff facing the axe were cleaners, maintenance workers and security staff. They said the college should look at high-paid management roles to save money.

Later this year, much of the college will transfer to the new, Hockney Building, currently being constructed.

A statement released by the college in relation to the job losses said this move meant the college needed fewer support staff, and that the job cuts were “upsetting and regrettable.”

A spokesman said: “There are significant drivers for change for Bradford College which must be addressed in the coming few months. Competitor benchmarking has shown that our support staff costs are significantly higher than our peers. The wider context of government funding cuts (doing more for less), competition with schools and the new spectre of fierce competition with higher education Institutions, has placed significant financial pressures on all further education and higher education institutions including Bradford College.

“In addition, to bring our estate into the 21st Century, we are developing and have consolidated our existing estates portfolio. Moving from four buildings to one, unfortunately this has repercussions on the number of staff needed, which means a reduction in support staff costs. In order to minimise the impact on teaching quality, students and the learning experience is always central to any decision making. We hope these changes will minimise the impact on students, by ensuring better systems of work and more efficient deployment of staff.

“The impact of these changes on the individuals whose livelihoods will be affected is upsetting and regrettable for all concerned and we have delayed this inevitable outcome as long as possible. We have now reached the stage where, in order to place the college on a firm competitive footing in the fiercely competitive world of education, we need to make these efficiency savings. We sincerely believe that this process, along with the strategic investment in the College, will secure the long term future of one of Bradford’s great Institutions for generations of staff and students to come.

A member of staff, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “None of the management seem to be going, so things will become top heavy. They should get rid of more people from the top rather than the bottom.”