17 percent of the budget gone ICRC cuts 2900 jobs
The International Committee of the Red Cross has to cut 2900 jobs. 17 percent of the budget will be cut
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The ICRC is cutting around 2900 full-time positions worldwide after the budget for 2026 is reduced by 17 percent.
- In Geneva, around 200 jobs will be lost; the cuts will affect around 30 delegations in total.
- At the same time, important missions in the Middle East and Sudan are to receive additional funding.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is having to make major adjustments to its global activities. As reported by Keystone-SDA, the ICRC Assembly in Geneva has approved a comprehensive savings program after the budget for 2026 was reduced by 17 percent. A total of around 2900 full-time positions will be cut.
ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric told Keystone-SDA that the focus is clearly on "maintaining our operations as far as possible". It is currently impossible to estimate how many redundancies will ultimately have to be announced. The situation is volatile, but a third of the necessary savings could be achieved through voluntary redundancies or unfilled positions.
The Geneva head office is particularly affected, where around 200 jobs will be lost. Together with two regional directorates, the cuts there add up to around 400 full-time positions. The cost-cutting measures will also be felt in around 30 delegations worldwide. Smaller sub-representations are to be closed, but the ICRC's overall presence in the respective countries will be maintained.
At the same time, the ICRC is shifting funds to crisis regions that are particularly hard hit. The largest operation in future will be the Middle East, replacing Ukraine as the most extensive operation. Sudan will also receive additional financial support.