More than 1,300 aid workers, consultants and UN staff have been laid off in Geneva since the start of 2025, as US funding cuts and the UN80 reform ripple through International Geneva.
The Swiss foreign ministry says the real total is likely higher once NGO contractors on standard residence permits are counted.
Unemployment in the canton of Geneva has climbed to 5% — its highest in a decade — and former UN workers who lose their jobs typically have around two months to find new employment or leave Switzerland.
Recruiters say the transition to the private sector is hard as most former UN staff have no local network, and Swiss employers struggle to read international-organisation CVs.
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