About 100 people attended a protest outside the university's clocktower yesterday, where participants used chalk outlines of dead bodies to highlight the human cost of the proposal.
Tertiary Education Union organiser Shaun Scott said yesterday's protest action would not be the last, and a larger protest march was being planned.
Staff morale and stress levels were the worst he had seen in the 17 years he had been an organiser, Mr Scott said.
''There is a high level of anger and anxiety about what is being proposed.''
It was so bad there were tears and it was becoming a ''real challenge'' for staff to find the motivation and will to keep going.
Staff were not only concerned about losing their jobs, but also about the effect the cuts would have on research and teaching.
Among the messages staff and students wrote in chalk on the ground were: ''They don't care'', ''Shame on you'' and ''This is your legacy''.
University vice-chancellor Harlene Hayne yesterday stood by the proposed cuts.
''There are two important reasons for the changes we are proposing.
''Firstly, we are reorganising many of our services to be more student facing and more responsive to students' changing needs.
''Secondly, we are looking at more effective ways to use the tuition fees and tax funding we receive,'' Prof Hayne said.
She recognised the process was tough on staff.
''I fully recognise that the next few months will be a challenging time for staff, and I strongly encourage them to offer their views and ideas as part of the consultation process.''
Protester and PhD student Will Stovall (26) said the university needed to re-examine how much it valued people.
''They are not just numbers,'' Mr Stovall said.
Academic staff member Rosemary Overell was worried the cuts would result in academic staff having to do work now done by general staff.
