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Manchester 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ has confirmed that it has accepted 530 redundancy applications after a voluntary redundancy package worth 18 months' pay was offered to its 11,800 staff in March.

The package is part of a drive to tackle a ?30 million deficit following the merger of Victoria 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ and Umist. The offer is open to staff until the end of this month, although deadlines have been extended for departments undergoing restructuring.

Alan Gilbert, the university president, told the Manchester Evening News : "We have actually grown by 3,000 staff since the merger, but we were still carrying additional expenses because two universities had been put together. We need to ensure the university reduces its costs."