The CSIRO has confirmed hundreds of jobs will be lost as the national science agency seeks to reel in $100 million worth of operating costs.

In a statement to Government News a CSIRO spokesman said between 375 and 500 jobs will be affected during the final wave of its program of reform across the non-research part of the organisation.

“To support CSIRO’s financial sustainability and ensure we’re best-placed to tackle the challenges that matter to Australia and Australians, we need to reduce costs across the non-research part of the organisation by 25 per cent – which is at least $100M,” the spokesperson said.  

“The staff impact in this final wave of the Enterprise Services Reform is likely to be between 375 and 500 roles.”  

The CSIRO Staff Association said the commissioning of the enterprise services reform project by CSIRO chief executive Doug Hilton last year had led to widespread fears among staff, whose fears had now been confirmed.

The loss of so many jobs could cripple research output, CSIRO Staff Association secretary Susan Tonks said in a statement.

““The announcement that up to five hundred research support roles could be cut represents a dark day for CSIRO and is a terrible outcome for Australia’s premier science agency.

“These cuts are a body blow for CSIRO.”

The association says CSIRO is suffering the worst job cuts in a decade, with 43 jobs gone from Health and Biosecurity, 30 from Agriculture and Food  and five from Manufacturing.

Up to 120 cuts are expected at CSIRO’s data and digital arm Data61 and it’s feared 65 heads could be on the block in the Environment business unit.

CSIRO ‘aiming for minimal impact on staff’

The CSIRO spokesperson said the reforms were being undertaken to ensure the organisation could direct its resources towards research.

The organisation was working on ways to implement the changes with minimal impact on staff, including natural attrition and voluntary redundancy.   

“The changes underway are to support CSIRO’s ongoing financial sustainability for the 2024-2025 financial year and beyond,” the spokesperson said.

“We are working to implement these changes with minimal impact on staff, while still delivering the best possible impact for Australia.”