Cardiff University cuts guru criticised senior colleagues in pub rant

Martin Shipton

One of the architects of the controversial job cuts plan at Cardiff University has been overheard loudly slagging off fellow members of the university’s executive board in a pub.

Dr David Langley is employed as the university’s chief transformation officer. He describes himself as both a “disruptive innovator” and a “polymath”, and has worked closely with Vice Chancellor Wendy Larner in devising changes which placed more than 1300 academics at risk of redundancy.

Originally the plan was to cut 400 jobs and close down five of the university’s Schools including Nursing and Music.

Backed down

Members of the University and College Union voted heavily in favour of a programme of industrial action that included strikes and a student assessment boycott. The university has now backed down from its threat to impose compulsory redundancies in 2025.

On the evening of Thursday May 8, at around 6pm, Dr Langley was in the Pen and Wig pub near the university, talking in a loud voice and criticising other members of the University Executive Board, which has been instrumental in pushing the cuts agenda.

His comments included talking about the ability of the College Pro Vice Chancellors to performance manage and the chief financial officer to give accurate figures.

A Cardiff University staff member who did not want to be identified said: “Jaws were dropping all over the pub as people noticed ‘the transformation guy’ shouting his mouth off. It was incredibly indiscreet, naive and unprofessional to carry on sensitive work conversations in a loud voice in a pub that is regularly used by Cardiff University staff.”

Recently Nation.Cymru reported how Dr Langley had warned that the cuts programme could “break” the university.

In a webinar viewed by staff, he said the current transformation programme risks “breaking a lot of things at once”.

He told them that “risk is inherent”, but that they should be excited about the changes underway.

The transformation programme, he said, was “huge” and “exciting”.

‘Discombobulated’

Asked whether “ordinary staff” shared Dr Langley’s sense of “excitement”, Professor Larner admitted that recent changes meant the university was “discombobulated”.

She added: “I absolutely know that it is a hugely challenging time for our university … I really, genuinely do know how challenging this is for everyone, whether you are in scope [for redundancy] or not in scope. You know, the university is discombobulated. I do understand that we can’t stay discombobulated.”

Dr Langley is on a two-year contract which expires in April 2026. He is listed as a consultant by the Higher Education consultancy Invisible Grail which claims on its website to “create experiential and imaginative approaches to professional development in universities: workshops, development programmes and coaching for Higher Education leaders” and that it is “here to support people to lead with courage and humanity. To choose new ways to connect and collaborate. To bring out the best in one another and our institutions, and build a better world.”

A section about Dr Langley on Invisible Grail’s website is headlined “Disruptive Innovator”. It states: “David considers himself an experienced polymath having worked in leadership roles at globally leading organisations where his focus has been research, innovation and knowledge exchange.”

Cardiff University was invited to comment, but did not do so.