Workers at Amnesty International prepare for redundancies

The Guardian reports that human rights workers at Amnesty International are braced for redundancies after the management admitted to a hole in its budget of up to £17m to the end of 2020.

Up to 70 jobs will go in voluntary and compulsory layoffs amid a slump in donations and a multi-million pound increase in spending on fundraising.

Staff have been told the organisation will be reshaped in line with the vision of recently appointed secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, who wants to increase Amnesty’s work on climate change and economic rights. There are concerns that cuts will marginalise in depth research on totemic Amnesty causes such as the death penalty, torture and the arms trade.

The job losses follow a damning report into the charity’s culture in February, commissioned after the suicides last year of two staff members, which detailed a “toxic” working environment and widespread bullying the Guardian said.

Via The Guardian