UN chief proposes 18.8 pct UN staff reduction for 2026

UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday proposed reducing the staffing table of the world body by 18.8 percent for 2026, a reduction of 2,681 posts to 11,594, compared with the approved staffing table for 2025.

Introducing the proposed program budget for 2026 to the Fifth Committee of the UN General Assembly, Guterres also proposed to bring the resource requirements for 2026 down to $3.238 billion, a reduction of 15.1 percent compared with the 2025 appropriation.

The proposed program budget for 2026 comprised three parts: the plan outline, the program plan for 2026 and program performance information for 2024, and the resource requirements for the programs and subprograms.

"The revised estimates report is a pragmatic response to evolving fiscal realities and Member States' expectations," said Guterres.

While the proposed reductions in the revised budget for 2026 are substantial, they are carefully calibrated to maintain balance across the three pillars of the United Nations -- peace and security, development, and human rights, said the secretary-general.

The United Nations had high arrears of $760 million as of the end of 2024, the majority of which were not recovered, and a large chunk was very unlikely to be recovered, coupled with $89 million of credits to member states as part of their 2025 assessments, meaning that the world body will collect less than the approved budget for 2025, even if member states pay their contributions in full this year, he said.

By the end of September, the United Nations had collected only 66.2 percent of the year's assessments, compared to 78.1 percent at this time last year, and in the last quarter of 2025, it still has significant uncertainty about the collections for the year, said the UN chief.

Given the present level of uncertainty about the income, the United Nations could end 2025 with a deficit of more than $450 million, even after reducing spending by nearly $600 million, he said.