“Hundreds more” job cuts are expected at CSIRO later this year, with Australia’s national science agency confirming it is “reshaping” its research teams to do “fewer things, better”.

The warning of a further headcount reduction comes after more than 400 non-research staff were caught up in CSIRO’s previous cuts, during efforts to save at least $100 million in costs.

A CSIRO spokesperson told Information Age that while the agency needed to retain its “distinct advantages” in research, it also needed to “evolve, becoming sharper in our focus, doing fewer things, better and at scale”.

Workforce planning would “ensure we have the right scale and scientific capability in place to deliver against national priorities”, they said.

“This will be done in line with well-established processes, policies and our Enterprise Agreement, including our commitment to consult with staff prior to decisions being made.”

The earlier restructure of CSIRO’s non-research enterprise arm was now near completion, the spokesperson said.

Confirmation of further cuts comes as the federal government works to improve the nation’s fledgling productivity with an economic reform roundtable later this month, and boost lagging research and development (R&D) through an ongoing review.

Calls for government action to stop ‘deep cuts’

The CSIRO Staff Association, which is part of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), called for government intervention on Thursday.

CSIRO’s work was “essential to lifting national productivity and driving economic growth”, the union argued.

Susan Tonks, the CSIRO Staff Association’s secretary, said there was “a clear disconnect” between the Albanese government’s goals of improving productivity and its “failure to support the very institution that helps deliver it”.

“Publicly funded research and development is where some of the biggest gains in productivity have come from,” Tonks said.

“But deep job cuts at the CSIRO are directly undermining Australia’s ability to innovate, compete, and grow.

“And this will continue to be the case as long as this government sits on its hands while hundreds of staff at the CSIRO are shown the door with little to no explanation.

“If this government is serious about productivity, it must step in, stop the cuts, and back our country’s peak science institution."

The Minister for Industry and Innovation, and Minister for Science, Tim Ayres, did not respond to a request for comment.

Ayres’s predecessor, Ed Husic, did not intervene when he faced similar calls during his time as minister.


The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) says the federal government should intervene to stop further job cuts at CSIRO. Image: CSIRO

‘Biggest job cuts in a decade’

The CPSU said CSIRO had witnessed “the organisation’s biggest job cuts in a decade” under chief executive Doug Hilton, who took over the role in September 2023.

This included the recent lapsing of around 200 contract roles, the union said.

CSIRO has a strong history of research innovation which has led to “commercial breakthroughs and increased productivity”, the CPSU argued, including in products such as Wi-Fi, plastic bank notes, and flexible solar panels.

The union said it had warned the government that Australia’s productivity and innovation capacity were “being actively undermined by aggressive job cuts and underinvestment” in CSIRO, as part of its submission to the upcoming economic reform roundtable.

CSIRO employed around 6,600 staff as of 30 June 2024 according to its latest annual report, which described its employees as “our most important asset, and critical to our success”.

The number marked a five per cent increase in staffing from the same time the previous year.