Who got hit hardest by the 2025 UN staff cuts? Shared by Lou Mendez

A preliminary analysis by Reform Works reveals that a historic 27% decline in core voluntary funding from overseas development assistance (ODA) triggered severe downsizing across the UN system in 2025.  UNICEF was among the top four UN entities hit hardest by the 2025 staff cuts, enduring a 10.5% reduction in its workforce.

Key Impacts on UNICEF:

• Staff Reduction: The agency lost 1,614 personnel, translating to a 10.5% workforce decline.
• General Service Impact: General Service (GS) staff faced the steepest cuts, bearing a heavy burden of the reductions.
• NPO Preservation: UNICEF protected its National Professional Officers (NPOs) at a better rate than junior-level international professionals (P-1 to P-3). 

Broad UN Trends

• Hardest Hit Entities: IOM lost 29.5% (4,471 people) and UNHCR lost 22% (2,932 people) of their workforces.
• The "Top Heavy" Trend: Across most of the UN, junior international professional levels (P-1 to P-3) were cut significantly more than senior leadership, skewing the hierarchy further away from a traditional workforce pyramid. 
• Silver Lining for Gender Parity: Despite the severe budget cuts, the global UN workforce edged closer to overall gender parity, narrowing the gap to 1.7% away from the target. 

For a deeper dive into the numbers and graphs detailing how different agencies weathered the storm, you can read Katja Hemmerich's full analysis on the ReformWorks Spotlight Page here.