Oxfam GB has reported a second consecutive annual operating deficit of more than £20m and confirmed that over 140 staff members were made redundant in a restructure this year.
The international development organisation’s accounts for the year to 31 March 2025 show its income dropped by £28.6m to £339m while its expenditure also decreased to £363m.
Oxfam’s drop in overall income was driven by a reduction in funding from emergency appeals and more than £20m less being transferred by the charity’s global affiliate organisations.
It did, however, record an increase in legacy income, rising to £19.6m in 2024-25 from £16.2m the year before.
Despite the deficit it recorded, Oxfam’s general reserves grew to £35.5m, surpassing last year’s amount of £32.9m and meeting its target level of between £35m and £45m.
Oxfam said it had deployed a slew of cost-cutting measures over the year, including slowing down recruitment, reducing discretionary spend in the UK and closing five of its least profitable charity shops.
Earlier this year, Oxfam announced 265 jobs were at risk in an effort to save £10.2m in annual costs, with the effect of this restructure to be recorded in its 2025-26 accounts.
Oxfam confirmed to Civil Society that after a three-month collective consultation period, 142 people left the charity while a further 116 staff members were redeployed to new or other roles in the organisation.
“For the year ahead, we still expect higher payroll expenses due to the one-off costs of redundancies, with the full benefit materialising in future years,” the 2024-25 accounts read.
The charity employed 4,084 people in 2024-25, down by almost 100 on the year before, with most of these roles in the UK.
Decrease in expenditure
Oxfam’s total expenditure decreased to £363m, down from £396m in 2023-24, with the charity pointing to “lower programmatic spend in humanitarian responses”.
The charity’s trading income, including sales from its 515 shops, decreased to £99.5m in 2024-25 from £103m the year prior, with cost-of-living pressures, lower consumer confidence and a challenging charity retail environment attributed to this fall.
Oxfam’s total trading costs edged lower to £93.1m in 2024-25, meaning its net retail income decreased year-on-year from £9.2m to £7.3m.
The charity’s total staff costs decreased to £118m from £119m the year before.
Past year has had ‘immense challenges’
Halima Begum, Oxfam’s chief executive since April 2024, said “deep cuts” in aid funding amid other factors had characterised 2024-25 as a year of “immense challenge”.
“Our work this year has taken place against a backdrop of deep uncertainty, rising inflation and a cost-of-living crisis that continues to affect people here in the UK as well as communities worldwide,” she said.
“The government’s cuts to UK aid have placed extra pressure not only on Oxfam GB but across the whole aid sector.
“Yet within the Oxfam family and among our partners around the globe, we continue to see extraordinary resilience and solidarity.
“Beyond immediate response, we are working with partners to shift power and resources to local leaders, rebuild water systems, adapt to extreme heat, and create fairer futures for women and girls everywhere.”
