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ICRC forced to cut 2,900 full-time positions worldwide

The ICRC must give up 2,900 full-time equivalents worldwide
Around 200 people will be affected at the Geneva headquarters, according to ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric. Keystone-SDA

The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is to give up 2,900 full-time equivalents as a result of a 17% reduction in its budget for 2026.

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The Assembly approved this plan in Geneva on Thursday. Around 200 people will be affected at the Geneva headquarters, according to ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric.

“The emphasis is on preserving our operations as far as possible,” Spoljaric told the Swiss News agency Keystone-ATS on Friday. She said it was impossible to anticipate the number of redundancies, given the volatility of the situation. A third of the volume could be resolved through voluntary redundancies and the abandonment of positions that have not yet been filled, she said.

+ Geneva-based WHO to lay off 1,282 staff worldwide

The head office and two regional offices will lose 400 full-time equivalents. In some 30 delegations, effects will be observed even if the footprint of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will remain the same. Some sub-delegations will be closed.

+ ICRC cutting around 240 jobs at its Geneva headquarters

On the other hand, the most important operations, such as the Middle East, which will replace Ukraine as the main operation, and Sudan, will receive more funding.

Translated from French by DeepL/ts

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