Thompson Rivers University says layoffs are “inevitable” this fall because of its financial situation.

The university will be going ahead with laying off about 80 staff members in October. Those notices were issued in June, as the school has a mandate to issue four-month notice before laying off unionized staff.

“We understand that this will have significant impacts on our employees and their families. HR will be working with those affected to ensure appropriate supports are provided. It is imperative that TRU manage its financial situation in order to avoid structural deficits beyond COVID,” vice president of finance Matt Milovick says.

In a video update, Milovick says COVID-19 has led to forecast revenues falling to about $207 million, compared to $252 million when the budget was first drafted in early March.

That’s about what the school’s revenues were three years ago, when labor costs were $119 million.

“So it was $119 million for 2017-18, and we’re tracking right now at $149 million dollars, against the same revenue that we had in 2017-18. So clearly this is not a sustainable situation.”

Milovick says the school was expecting an $8.4 million-dollar surplus, but is now expecting a deficit of $8.7 million dollars.

Apart from layoffs, he says the school continues to not fill vacancies and not renew contracts to save cash.

“What remains uncertain of course is our fall enrolment, and especially our international enrolment. We know that there will be a serious drop, and we’re hoping that the reduction is no greater than we are currently forecasting. We’re very nervous that we could see enrollment dip from both on-campus and international students in the winter, further exacerbating our situation.”

He also says about $10 million in capital spending has been deferred until next year.