ICRC cutting around 240 jobs at its Geneva headquarters

Notices for the first redundancies were reportedly issued this week. Keystone-SDA

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is cutting around 240 jobs at its headquarters in Geneva. Last July, it had announced a 17% cut in its budget, reducing it to CHF1.8 billion ($2.27 billion) in 2026.

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On Friday afternoon, a source close to the matter told news agency Keystone-SDA that between 200-300 people would be affected, including 95 voluntary redundancies. A few hours later, the newspaper Tribune de Genève reported 240 redundancies.

This figure was confirmed by several spokespersons for the organisation. “Around 240 people have been affected”, one of them told Keystone-SDA. The budget still has to be approved by the Assembly, the supreme body, in November, which is why the figure could still be revised. Notices for the first redundancies were issued this week.

The cuts are also expected to be significant in various countries where the ICRC operates. The source close to the matter said that they could affect several thousand jobs. “As far as the field is concerned, we cannot confirm anything at this stage,” said spokesperson Christian Cardon.

Delegations affected

According to multiple sources, the calculation is complicated by the fact that dozens of different laws must be taken into account, depending on the country. Last July, the organisation spoke of a 23% reduction in the budget for its headquarters and regional centres, compared with 17% for operations.

The ICRC wants to maintain its operational footprint for its main interventions in Ukraine, the Middle East, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan. It claims to use 93.5% of the funds it receives in the field.

But the organisation must also “become more efficient” in a structural way, in line with the new policy decided in 2023, a spokesperson said a few months ago. Expenditure has been reduced and it must anticipate the difficult financial situation for all humanitarian organisations.

Previous cuts

After rapid growth in previous years, the organisation faced difficulties in 2023 that saw its budget reduced from CHF2.8 billion to CHF2.1 billion. Some 4,500 jobs were then cut, including several hundred in Geneva. The organisation employs more than 18,000 people in nearly 100 countries, including 1,000 at its headquarters.

In 2023, it announced that it would focus more on its added value. This ranges from protecting and assisting populations affected by conflict to defending international humanitarian law (IHL), for which it has launched an initiative supported by dozens of states, and its role as a neutral intermediary, which is currently the focus of attention in the Middle East.

+ Dozens of states seek better protection for victims of conflict

The organisation is seeking to diversify its donor base. The United States still provides around a quarter of its funding and maintained its payments last year, unlike those for UN agencies. Saudi Arabia is now one of its main donors. Other Gulf countries and countries from different regions are increasing their support.

Translated from French with DeepL/gw

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