ICRC Decides to lay off 1,500 jobs as humanitarian aid fall

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), following in the footsteps of major giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Others, has chosen to eliminate about 1,500 employees in a few places because it anticipates a drop in funding for humanitarian help. As part of cost-saving measures, the organisation will also terminate several of its programmes. The Geneva-based organisation reported that $475.30 million in cost reductions for 2023 and the first half of 2024 were approved by its governing board last week. The ICRC said in a statement on Tuesday that nearly 1,500 employees must be let go globally over the course of the next year.

In a statement, the ICRC stated that during the next 12 months, 1,500 jobs must be reduced worldwide. The organisation emphasised that by decreasing roles primarily through a recruiting freeze and natural attrition, the number of workers affected will be as few as feasible.

The solely humanitarian objective of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), an unbiased, neutral, and autonomous organisation, is to defend the lives and dignity of those who have suffered violence and other forms of adversity, as well as to aid them. Through advancing and bolstering humanitarian law and universal humanitarian ideals, the ICRC also works to end suffering.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, as well as the Geneva Conventions, were both inspired by the ICRC, which was founded in 1863.
In order to make room for other ICRC offices or other humanitarian or development partners to take over, at least 20 of the 350 currently active locations will need to close. According to the ICRC, we would also be reducing and discontinuing a number of our programmes. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), expenses in the fourth quarter of 2022 were greater than expected and several end-of-year donor commitments did not come to pass to the extent we had anticipated.

The ICRC is employing 20,000 people worldwide for its operations this year, and it initially asked for 2.8 billion Swiss francs from donations. It has since reduced its budget to two billion francs, but it emphasised that in order to fund our humanitarian efforts this year, we still require considerable help from our donors. The 160-year-old ICRC had already issued a warning in a number of media appearances last month that it may be headed into a substantial financial shortfall for 2023 that could necessitate downsizing.