Save the Children International has reported that its staff numbers reduced by more than a quarter last year following aid funding cuts.
Its recently published annual accounts for 2025 show that the charity spent $6.18m (£4.66m) in total on termination payments, while its average headcount dropped to 11,838 from 16,153 in 2024.
The charity wrote in its accounts that “the year was characterised by a significantly constrained funding environment”, citing the impact of the US government’s stop work orders (SWOs), the non-renewal or completion of major institutional grants, and a “general decrease in humanitarian funding”.
Save the Children International added that the SWOs, in particular, resulted in a “significant organisational restructure” across its global offices.
A spokesperson for the charity confirmed to Civil Society that 51 UK-based staff were made redundant as a result of last year’s restructure.
They said that in early 2025, the charity had 420 UK-based staff, whereas it now has 392 based in the country.
USAID income halves
Save the Children International recorded a 10.9% decrease in income to $1.25bn in 2025 from $1.41bn the year before.
Of this, money from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) fell by more than half to $154m.
Total expenditure also dropped to $1.25bn in 2025 from $1.51bn the year before, with the charity writing that expenditure across all of its strategic pillars decreased, with the largest percentage reduction seen in its Live Free from Violence work, reflecting “programme scale-backs associated with reduced funding availability”.
Programme expenditure declined across most regions, which the charity added reflected “reduced funding flows, programme closures, and evolving humanitarian priorities”.
Save the Children International announced at the end of last year that it expected to lose £30m annually after the charity decided to stop bidding for a country-specific UN funding pot to enable local organisations to access the money.
