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The Red Cross is moving forward with major budget cuts after a notable decrease in funding.

Getting into it: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed it will reduce its 2026 operating budget by 17%, bringing it down to $2.2 billion. This significant reduction marks one of the largest financial contractions in the organization’s history. As part of this restructuring, the ICRC will cut around 2,900 jobs which represents roughly 15% of its 18,500 global workforce.

About 200 of these positions will be eliminated at its headquarters in Geneva, while the rest will span its operations in over 90 countries. A third of the job reductions will come through voluntary departures or by leaving vacant roles unfilled.

ICRC officials have attributed the cuts to a global retreat in humanitarian financing, with traditional donor countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom scaling back their contributions.

This drop in aid comes amid record-breaking humanitarian needs, forcing the organization to make tough choices about where and how it can operate effectively. President Mirjana Spoljaric described the situation as a “dangerous convergence” of escalating armed conflict, shrinking aid budgets, and a growing tolerance for violations of international humanitarian law.