More than 60 United Nations offices, agencies and operations have been ordered to submit proposals by mid-June to cut 20% of their staff, as part of a major reform effort to consolidate operations in the face of a critical funding crunch.
The cuts will affect about 14,000 posts covered by the regular budget, or about 2,800 posts, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday, reports AP.
UN Controller Chandramouli Ramanathan said in a memo to the affected agencies that the staff cuts are part of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ goal of achieving a reduction of between 15% and 20% in the UN’s current budget of $3.72 billion.
The cuts are part of the UN80 reform initiative launched by Guterres in March as the world body approaches its 80th anniversary later this year.
The controller’s memo, gives advice to the heads of agencies on which posts to cut: “Assess functions based on efficiency; Prioritize based on impact; Target redundant, overlapping or non-critical functions or roles for consolidation or abolition.”
The UN chief has dismissed any relationship with the cuts to foreign aid and other programs by US President Donald Trump. Instead, he has pointed to shrinking UN resources over time as not all member states pay their yearly dues and many do not pay on time. Guterres and his predecessors in past decades have struggled to reform the United Nations, which was established following World War II, and bring it into a modern era with different powers, new technology and greater global divisions.
One key problem is that while the secretary-general is the UN’s chief executive, power rests with the 193 member nations, which have very different ideas about the UN and the world. The proposed cuts must be submitted to the controller by June 13. Dujarric said they will be incorporated into Guterres’ proposed 2026 budget, to be adopted by the General Assembly in December.
The UN’s 11 peacekeeping missions are financed by a separate budget, and many of its far-flung agencies and operations are funded entirely by voluntary contributions, including the Rome-based World Food Program, known as WFP.
The UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is also on the list.
WFP is expected to cut up to 30% of its staff, and the head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR said it would downsize its headquarters and regional offices to reduce costs by 30% and cut senior-level positions by 50%, according to internal memos obtained by the AP.
Other agencies, including UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, and OCHA, the UN humanitarian agency, have also announced or plan to make cuts.