CSIRO chief executive Doug Hilton is steering the agency to a new frontier of refocused research and far fewer employees. Photo: CSIRO.
The nation’s peak scientific agency is slashing hundreds of jobs in a shakeup that has sparked political outrage and stressed its workforce.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation has flagged that up to 350 research roles will be abolished next financial year, on top of the hundreds of jobs already cut over the past 18 months.
CSIRO bosses held a town hall meeting on Tuesday (18 November) afternoon, letting staff know that budgetary restraints are making the drastic measures necessary.
CEO Doug Hilton issued a statement signalling that the organisation needs to brace and adapt to a new research direction.
“CSIRO’s reason for being is to deliver the greatest possible impact for the nation through our research,” Dr Hilton said.
“As today’s stewards of CSIRO, we have a responsibility to make decisions that ensure we can continue to deliver science that improves the lives of all Australians for generations to come.
“We must set up CSIRO for the decades ahead with a sharpened research focus that capitalises on our unique strengths, allows us to concentrate on the profound challenges we face as a nation and deliver solutions at scale.”
The CSIRO Staff Association within the Community and Public Sector Union has blasted the Federal Government for allowing such deep workforce cuts to take place.
It says the public science jobs cuts go further than those lost under former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott.
CSIRO Staff Association section secretary Susan Tonks said the Labor government must not let it happen.
“This is a very sad day for publicly funded science in this country, and the Albanese Government is just sitting back and watching it happen,” she said.
“They are now responsible for cuts to public science that exceed the Abbott Government – cuts current Labor MPs rightly slammed at the time.
“These are some of the worst cuts the CSIRO has ever seen, and they’re coming at a time when we should be investing in and building up public science.
“We don’t need a crystal ball to know these cuts will hurt – they’ll hurt families, farmers and our future.
“The Albanese Labor Government needs to fix this mess by committing to urgent funding that halts the cuts and secures the future of CSIRO’s world-leading science and research.”
In detailing the workforce reduction plans and changes to research direction, the CSIRO chief executive said the broader strategy was to shore up a sustainable and enduring national science agency.
“These are difficult but necessary changes to safeguard our national science agency so we can continue solving the challenges that matter to Australia and Australians,” Dr Hilton said.
Following an 18-month review of its research portfolio, CSIRO has identified key areas of focus it says are necessary “to bring a renewed emphasis on inventing and deploying technological solutions to tackle national problems”.
To meet those objectives, the agency’s hierarchy believes it needs fewer people in its workforce and for numerous research activities “to be deprioritised”.
Dr Hilton said while CSIRO will seek to minimise the impact on staff, the organisation will need to reduce roles in its research units by between 300 and 350 full-time equivalent to achieve “this sharpened research focus”.
In addition to its immediate staffing impacts, to put the organisation on a pathway to long-term sustainability, CSIRO will also need to invest between $80 million and $135 million per annum over the next 10 years into essential infrastructure and technology.
The CEO said early staff engagement in the implementation of CSIRO’s new “focused research direction” will start this week.
The development has been sharply criticised by ACT independent Senator David Pocock, who described the news as “incredibly disappointing”.
He noted that more than 1000 Canberrans work at CSIRO, and they deserve better than ongoing job cuts and uncertainty.
“The Prime Minister and Science Minister will spend billions fighting for manufacturing jobs at Tomago or Whyalla, but cut funding and silently sacrifice equally critical jobs at our national science and research agency,” Senator Pocock said.
“If we are serious about meeting the huge challenges ahead, from climate change to AI and robotics, the government must invest in the people doing the science.”
Greens science spokesperson Peter Whish-Wilson said the government has some explaining to do.
“At a time when it has never been more important for governments to invest in science and research, it is shameful that our nation’s premier science and research organisation is cutting hundreds of jobs to make ends meet,” Senator Whish-Wilson said.
“It’s critical that Minister Tim Ayres does not pass the buck on this. With MYEFO [Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook] just around the corner and Senate Estimates only a few weeks away, the minister must explain how the CSIRO has ended up cutting hundreds of jobs in order to find cost savings.”
Science & Technology Australia CEO Ryan Winn said CSIRO’s cuts were a “step in the wrong direction” for Australia’s research system.
“We support CSIRO’s ambition to sustainably deliver the science Australia needs to meet the challenges of the decades ahead,” he said.
“However, that will require greater investment, not less.”
