UN needs to cut $500m from 2026 budget and lose 20% of staff after US funding reductions

Job losses and global reorganisation expected amid Trump administration’s slashing of funding and ‘UN80’ review

The UN will need to cut $500m (about £370m) from next year’s budget and lose 20% of its staff as it struggles to cope with a massive reduction in funding by the Trump administration.

The plan, in gestation since Donald Trump started slashing his foreign aid budget, is likely to involve an initial minimum 3,000 job cuts out of a 35,000-strong main workforce. The overall UN core or regular budget would be cut from $3.7bn to about $3.2bn next year. It means reductions of 15.1% in resources and 18.8% in posts in the regular budget compared with the 2025 budget.