Mathew Halsall, 30, who graduated with a BA degree in international business and Japanese in 2000, said: "There are a number of irate pupils and alumni, who I am sure would share their dismay at this ridiculous state of affairs. "As we all know, we are to be the Capital of Culture in 2008. How can we attract foreign talent and harness local understanding of foreign cultures without a language school of the quality we have at present?" Local UCU branch president John Middleton said: "The news of redundancies comes as a massive shock to everyone here at Liverpool John Moores, principally because there is absolutely no need for them. "The university has got its sums wrong and urgently needs to go back to the drawing board. Student numbers for the year are as expected and if the university doesn't act quickly it will needlessly be culling two highly-regarded departments." The university said the restructuring was necessary to "equip students and professionals with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in today's competitive global marketplace." The changes, which will be fully complete by 2007, will see the five existing schools at the faculty reduced to three: the Liverpool School of Law, the Liverpool Business School, and the European Centre for Corporate Governance. German and Chinese courses are being withdrawn to new students. French, Spanish and Japanese will continue to be taught, but only as complementary modules on programmes such as international business studies and tourism and leisure. Another course, the BSc in E-Business, will also close. In a statement, the university said the rationalisation of LJMU's language programmes reflected a long-term national decline in demand. It continued: "All prospective students have been notified of the changes and where appropriate offered alternative courses at LJMU. "The university has also contacted all existing students in the faculty to assure them that they can expect the same high quality academic teaching and learning support as before and that they will be able to graduate as planned with a high quality degree. "There will be a number of redundancies as a result of the restructure. Over the next three months, LJMU will be carrying out an extensive consultation process with all faculty staff and the relevant trade unions to formalise the new structure." alanweston@dailypost.co.uk Callous and unethical decision is on a par with employees who have been sacked by text message | 
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