{"id":95822,"date":"2026-07-02T07:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T07:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/95822\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T07:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T07:27:13","slug":"whats-next-moving-on-after-losing-a-job-in-international-geneva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/95822\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s next? Moving on after losing a job in International Geneva"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Geneva-based<\/p>\n

Geneva-based United Nations employees hold slogans during a demonstration in Geneva, on May 1, 2025, over deep funding cuts. <\/p>\n

Afp Or Licensors <\/p>\n

Over 1,300 aid workers have been laid off in Geneva over the past year. Many want to remain in Switzerland.\n<\/p>\n

This content was published on <\/p>\n

July 2, 2026 – 09:00\n<\/p>\n

Simone Holladay worked for a United Nations agency for eight years. Her missions brought her to countries such as South Sudan and Yemen. Based in Geneva for the last three years, she was let go with one month\u2019s notice in April 2025.<\/p>\n

The reason she was given for being let go after years serving in missions in which she risked her life: \u201cstructural adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was angry, disappointed and sad. I didn\u2019t know what to do, but I knew I wanted to stay in Switzerland \u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Geneva is home to some 750 international organisations, including a network of local NGOs employing a total of roughly 36,000 people from 41 countries.<\/p>\n

Since the US withdrawal of UN funding at the beginning of 2025, more than 20,000 jobs across the UN system globally have been cut. This is on top of the UN80 reform initiative, a massive budget cut mission across the UN, which proposes roughly 6,900 job cuts and the consolidation of dozens of overlapping agencies. It is largely a response to a severe financial crisis driven by unpaid member state contributions, including from the United States.<\/p>\n

In Geneva some 1,305 UN and NGO workers as well as consultants have been laid off since January 2025, according to\u00a0the Swiss foreign ministry.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, if\u00a0we consider the international community as a whole, including NGOs and consultants (for whom we do not have exact figures because these workers hold residence permits rather than foreign ministry legitimation cards), the number of jobs lost is certainly higher,\u201d said\u00a0 ministry spokesperson Paola Ceresetti.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/p>\n

More <\/p>\n

International Geneva\n <\/p>\n

International Geneva\u00a0in numbers <\/p>\n

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This content was published on <\/p>\n

Oct 15, 2024 <\/p>\n

In the last decade, the number of multinationals in Geneva has doubled, while the number of NGOs has also increased considerably. <\/p>\n

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Read more: International Geneva\u00a0in numbers
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

High unemployment<\/p>\n

People who have built their entire careers around the UN system and been let go face two options: find another job in Switzerland in a tight employment market, or leave the country.<\/p>\n

According to the most recent data published by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the unemployment rate in Switzerland reached 3% in June 2026, while in the canton of Geneva it is 5% \u2013 the highest it\u2019s been in the past decade. That compares with 2.3% in Switzerland in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe end of employment with an international organisation results in the loss of the residency permit after a courtesy period, usually two months, which is extended only under very strict conditions,\u201d said C\u00e9line Moreau, a lawyer in Geneva.<\/p>\n

European Union citizens who have worked in Switzerland for more than a year can stay in the country for up to six months.I If they worked for a year, they can extend for another six months.<\/p>\n

However, UN workers do not have the right to unemployment benefits as they do not pay taxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose affected must therefore either find another position in an international organisation, in which case they will be authorised to receive another residence permit, or find another basis to maintain a legal status in Switzerland, either through family ties or new employment,\u201d said Moreau.<\/p>\n

Holladay\u2019s European Union passport meant she was able to stay in Switzerland. Networking on LinkedIn enabled her to secure a short-term contract as an operational analyst at an NGOs focused on health in Geneva.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is only a maternity cover, but I am grateful for what I have, as I know there are many who are still struggling. I take it one day at a time, and this whole experience was a blessing in disguise. This time gave me a chance to reconnect with myself and be clear about what I want,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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\"Geneva<\/p>\n

More <\/p>\n

Geneva organisations\n <\/p>\n

Ripple effect of aid freeze becomes real in Geneva \u00a0 <\/p>\n

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This content was published on <\/p>\n

Aug 26, 2025 <\/p>\n

Geneva is reckoning with fewer funds, fewer people and competition from cheaper countries vying for an international role. <\/p>\n

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Read more: Ripple effect of aid freeze becomes real in Geneva \u00a0
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Rough transition<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking for a job and transitioning to the private sector is not easy,\u201d said Guillaume Stollsteiner, founder of Transition & Performance, a Swiss HR consulting firm.<\/p>\n

He helps former UN workers in their transition to the private sector: \u201cThe majority are struggling because building a network in Switzerland takes more than two months. These people are not connected to the local job market. From the companies\u2019 perspective, they do not really understand what international organisation employees do. There is a huge bridge to build between these two worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anna, a former UN worker who prefers to remain anonymous and did not provide her surname, began her career as an intern in Geneva. She then spent over a decade working in conflict zones across nine countries on six continents. She moved to Switzerland in January 2025, and two weeks later found out her contract was going to end.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the change in the US administration, about 65% to 75% of the funding for the projects I was working on was cut overnight. It was very drastic and quite a shock to me. We had no idea how this was going to impact our jobs, our projects, and most importantly, the people in the field, for whom a lot of this funding was lifesaving,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n More<\/p>\n

\"It's<\/p>\n

More <\/p>\n

International Geneva\n <\/p>\n

As UN jobs disappear, foreign graduates struggle to stay in Geneva <\/p>\n

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This content was published on <\/p>\n

Jan 6, 2026 <\/p>\n

International students who came to study in Geneva with the hope of getting their foot in the UN are at the forefront of job cuts. <\/p>\n

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Read more: As UN jobs disappear, foreign graduates struggle to stay in Geneva
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She applied for more than 150 jobs and had six interviews, but ultimately did not succeed in landing a position. Unable to extend her stay, she had to return to the US. \u201cI managed to start from scratch and rebuild my life, and it really taught me the power of resilience. Just because one door closes, somehow a window will open,\u201d she said. She is now working in the private sector in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people feel lost. They no longer have a sense of purpose, and don\u2019t know where to turn. Because I worked in the UN system for 30 years, now I use the skills I learnt in diplomacy to coach women in leadership roles,\u201d said Sima Newell, a former UNAIDS worker based in Geneva who was let go in 2017 after a burnout.<\/p>\n

She says most of the people she worked with managed to land on their feet. \u201cIt is a lot about having patience and being driven and ambitious\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Edited by Virginie Mangin\/gw<\/p>\n

Articles in this story <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Geneva-based United Nations employees hold slogans during a demonstration in Geneva, on May 1, 2025, over deep funding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95823,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[101,9951,567,2143,65,23799,47927,461,21313],"class_list":["post-95822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-geneva","tag-article","tag-beat-geneva-organisations","tag-beat-international-geneva","tag-foreign-affairs","tag-geneva","tag-government-aid","tag-non-government-organizations-ngo","tag-production-type-original","tag-user-need-update-me"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116849203239229574","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}