CSIRO Braces for Hundreds of Research Job Cuts Amid Funding Crunch

In a concerning development for Australia's scientific community, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has announced plans to cut up to 350 more research roles from next year. This comes as the national science agency grapples with budgetary shortfalls and the need to find new sources of funding.

CSIRO's leadership revealed the troubled times ahead during a town hall meeting on Tuesday. The agency will be looking to secure between $80 million and $135 million each year to renovate its aging property portfolio, with around 80% of its 800 facilities nearing the end of their life cycles.

To address these financial challenges, CSIRO will be deprioritizing research areas based on an updated statement of expectations from the government. The research units expected to be impacted include those focused on health and biosecurity, agriculture and food, and the environment.

CSIRO's chief, Doug Hilton, stated that the changes would "set up CSIRO for the decades ahead with a sharpened research focus." However, the CSIRO staff association secretary, Susan Tonks, described the cuts as "some of the worst" the agency has ever seen, coming at a time when public science should be bolstered, not diminished.