Vice-chancellor Professor Iain Martin told staff in an email the university was pushing ahead with plans that would change the workforce amid the coronavirus downturn.

The Standard understands these changes will result in six fewer staff at the Warrnambool campus and 300 job losses in total from other campuses including at Geelong and Melbourne.

The university overall will also see 45 per cent fewer international students next year, and 50 per cent fewer in 2022, compared with 2019.

Warrnambool international student enrolments were at a four-year high last year, with 34 students enrolled.

Professor Martin said the university overall was expecting to lose at least $700 million in revenue between 2020 and 2023.

"The Deakin University that emerges from the shadow of COVID-19 will be changed, but must be resilient, adaptable and able to make the impact that our communities expect," he told staff.

"If we simply look to recreate where we were at the end of 2019, we will have not served ourselves or our communities well."

The Fair Work Commission has forced the university to consult with staff about the workplace changes, but found in a July ruling consultation was not required prior to May 25.

National Tertiary Education Union Deakin branch president Kerrie Saville said she believed the university should be looking at other ways to mitigate job losses.

"(It's) doing irreparable damage to the long-term relationship with its staff, the Deakin community, and the communities in which targeted staff reside" Dr Saville said.

"There are also other Warrnambool campus staff with uncertain futures, who are being required to reapply for their positions, so total impact on (those) staff numbers will not be known (for some time)."

The university received more than 1200 pieces of individual feedback on the workplaces changes during a consultation period, including 54 requests for voluntary redundancy.

Early this year Warrnambool's campus had 182 new enrolments.

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