I heard the Swiss government was going to step in to provide some funding, but I guess they can’t cover everything. Will these jobs disappear?
2 Likes
There has been some talk about having a special, limited time, permit similar to a “S” permit giving CdL holders a little time to secure other employment as Swiss residents. There is a lot of deadwood out there but the cuts ate indiscriminate affecting the good and the bad.
Listening to the RTS reportage now.
Around min 12,still on the stories of aid organization workers getting fired with 1 month or no notice at all. 30k workers? That’s a lot.
Can those workers transition to other jobs to ease the scarcity of qualified workers in Switzerland? Maybe. But there’s no path to go from carte de légitimation DFAE/EDA to permit B.
I keep listening to the reportage…wondering about excess capacity in office buildings in Geneva.
If all 30k were to leave, that would cost quite a few additional jobs in all sectors. France’s Haut-Savoie will feel the hit, too.
That’ll take a lot of steam out of the residential properties market, depending on the severity of the hit renters might have reason to rejoice. It will also lessen the traffic chaos, the crossborder traffic will reduce quite a bit.
Something is happening:
Historic UN building in Geneva could be abandoned as Trump cuts loom
The U.N. building that was once the headquarters of the first modern global organisation dedicated to peace and international cooperation could soon be abandoned by the United Nations due to a funding crisis triggered partly by the Trump administration.
Named after former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, the opulent 225-room Palais Wilson in Geneva was the first headquarters of the forerunner of the U.N., the League of Nations, and today is home to the U.N. human rights arm.
The U.N. in Geneva (UNOG) leases the 19th century Palais on behalf of the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights from a Swiss foundation under a nearly 30-year lease worth around 36 million Swiss francs ($44.25 million), U.N. documents show.
I immediately checked the Geneva airport traffic stats, whatever is happening it’s not showing on the data yet:
The Palais Wilson is owned by the Swiss Confederation who took possession in 1937 after the “League of Nations“ abandoned it. They used it themselves for many years and in the 90s spent millions bringing it up to scratch.
It is a prestigious address so I doubt it will be difficult to find new tenants should the UN HCR decide to relocate.
Rumour has it that Pictet bank is looking to consolidate their many offices and would love to upstage Lombard Odier who is opening their new lakeside quarters soon.
1 Like
It’s not even a bad joke that the UN finds it Ok to waste the money they’re entrusted with on useless luxury and wannabe-prestige.
Are you speaking from personal knowledge, or just regurgitating internet speculation?
Tempting to joke, but Geneva was the only French speaking canton contributing to the financial equalisation fund among cantons. The thousands of jobs losses may impact the services economy in the canton. The airport also depends on the UN business. It might be the start of a rout…
Outsourcing arrived to the UN. Jobs moving to Italy and Belgium to save labor costs. And of course, much much lower rent of the office.
UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, will relocate part of its regional headquarters to Rome and move three-quarters of its staff. In addition to the Italian capital, Florence and Brussels are also expected to host some of these employees. As reported by the Tribune de Genève, while the UN agency had 390 staff members at the end of 2024 in Geneva, only about 100 will remain. This information has been confirmed by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. It appears that the entire fundraising team has already relocated, and that UNICEF’s presence in Geneva will be concentrated in the future on the Emergency Programmes Office.
My little experience with Geneva was that out of 3 lengthy demanding job interviews the offered salary was at French level, and that was ~10 years ago, whilst I’ve got to know some people working at UN in Geneva making Zurich level income 
Yes and no. Swiss and EU citizens can stay without a problem, as can their spouses. In fact, most individuals in the G category (i.e. support staff) were local hires. They had to have a permit B or C or citizenship in order to get the job in the first place. That permit can be reissued after end of service when the CdL is surrendered.
Non-EUs that retire from a UN org can apply for a permit upon retirement. What remains are mostly the P and D level employees ($$-$$$) who are non-EU and not ready to retire. I don’t imagine the Swiss labor market has a huge need for that many program experts or directors.
The only surprising thing is how long it took. According to the article from Phil in the OP, “Last year, 41 out of the UN’s 193 member nations failed to contribute on time.” Add to that the fact no one really wants to reorganize their agency in such a manner that they lose their own job. I suppose complancency is the norm until the rug is pulled out from under you.
2 Likes