Mohawk College looking at layoffs to offset next year’s $50M deficit

Mohawk College is looking into potential layoffs following a report that projected a $50 million deficit for next year’s budget.

In a memo shared to staff and faculty Wednesday, the college says that the announcements made by the federal government to reduce international student enrolment across the country starting next year are a primary cause for the school’s deficit.

The Mohawk Executive Group and staff met Monday to review the school’s finances. The memo reads that each area of the college has begun to review individual budgets to assess where to save money ahead of the next fiscal year.

“Every area of the college will be affected, and layoffs will be necessary,” reads the memo. “We will also be introducing a voluntary retirement incentive program for eligible employees.”

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Changes to international enrolment capacity

Earlier in September, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced it was reducing the international enrolment cap by ten per cent for 2025-26.

This drop is on top of the 35 per cent reduction of enrolments in Canada and the 50 per cent drop for enrolment in Ontario, for a total of 60 per cent for the province.

Mohawk College told CHCH News there were 7,309 international students enrolled at the school in Fall 2023 and 6,166 international students enrolled as of Fall of this year.

The IRCC announced Oct. 4 the list of programs that were eligible for the Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP), which were re-aligned to address labour market shortages.

The college told CHCH News the school had 130 programs eligible for the PGWP in 2023-24 which has now been reduced to 41 with the new list.

According to the memo the work permits are the deciding factor for the majority of international students seeking to study in Canada.

“What this all means is that we are left with very few options to increase revenues in the absence of international enrolments,” reads the memo.

Mohawk College statistics

For perspective in understanding the number of employees impacted, Mohawk College told CHCH News that the college employs 1,200 full-time employees and as many as 1,250 part-timers.

The average tuition for most programs for an international student is $14,817.88 for two semesters, and $2,708 for two semesters for domestic students.

The college will be holding a virtual town hall meeting for all employees on Nov. 8.

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