UN plans cuts, but only minimal ones at the highest levels

The United Nations' savings plan for 2026 envisages significantly smaller cuts at senior levels compared to lower positions, according to the draft budget.

Of the 58 positions under Secretary-General António Guterres, only three percent, or two posts, are to be merged or eliminated. In contrast, the planned savings for lower and middle-level positions amount to up to 19 percent, with individual categories to be reduced by as much as 28 percent.

Ian Richards, president of the UN staff union, criticized the draft as a measure that increases bureaucracy and further expands the management structure, which weakens the organization. He also criticized the fact that humanitarian agencies with their own budgets are to reduce their staff by more than a quarter – without any differences in management levels.

According to UN spokespeople, the most extensive cost-cutting measures are inevitable where the largest number of employees are located. The scope of the structural changes in the parent organization was also limited by the time required to prepare the final budget for the 80th anniversary of the UN.

(reuters, sie)