Geneva is holding job-hunting clinics to support international civil servants suddenly thrust into the Swiss labor market by the Trump administration’s massive foreign aid cuts.

United Nations agencies, many of which are headquartered in Geneva, and other international organizations have announced thousands of layoffs in recent months, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to slash international development funding and withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO).

As 2026 budgets in those international institutions are finalized, agencies such as the WHO are being forced to merge units, scale back operations and relocate staff from cities with higher costs — such as New York and Geneva — to Nairobi, according to one U.N. official who spoke to POLITICO, signaling a sharp contraction of the multilateral system’s global footprint.

To tackle rising unemployment and a potential exodus of high-earning expats who spend significantly in the local economy, the city of Geneva has launched job clinics to help people find work, while international schools have signaled flexibility in terms of fees for families who need to withdraw children mid-year.

“I’m a little surprised [the WHO has] acted like they didn’t see it coming,” said a second U.N. official and current WHO employee. Both U.N. employees were granted anonymity to speak to POLITICO out of concern for their positions.

“It’s a little bit disappointing that the executive level here didn’t prepare ahead of time,” the WHO official said, noting that Trump was clear during his campaign that he would pull the country out of the organization once again.

Much of the support for redundant employees has come from city authorities, such as Geneva and Bern, which have pledged more than €300 million for struggling NGOs and international organizations.

At one job clinic held in late June, attendees heard from officials including Danielle Werthmüller, head of legal and protocol at the Swiss Mission to the U.N. in Geneva, and Tania Albertani, director of the service for foreigners at the Canton of Geneva’s population and migration office, who outlined options for remaining in Switzerland after becoming unemployed.

The U.K.-based employment agency, Michael Page, was also brought in to give advice on “how to optimize job searches and applications.”

According to a city presentation, U.N. staff and their families living in Switzerland may be granted “a longer courtesy period” to remain in the country after they’ve been laid off — provided they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances or have the financial means to support an extended stay.

A separate presentation to parents, seen by POLITICO, outlines a special grant from the WHO to help jobless staff cover school fees, and notes that some schools may waive penalty charges for early withdrawals.

“If you anticipate withdrawing your child, we recommend initiating preliminary discussions with your school’s administration to understand your individual options,” the document reads.

UNAIDS, a joint U.N. initiative to fight AIDS around the world, and one of the agencies hardest hit by U.S. funding cuts, is slashing its Geneva headquarters staff by more than 85 percent — from 127 to just 19 — as part of a sweeping year-long restructuring, Devex reported.

The WHO plans to reduce mid-level positions by 40 percent, according to one of the officials — with additional cuts expected in August— which would reduce WHO’s capacity to surveil and respond to health emergencies. Senior staff are likely to remain, but with limited capacity to implement policy on the ground.

“It’s a dark time,” the WHO official said. “The threat of nuclear war looms, and our radiation unit is about to be absorbed into a team that has nothing to do with the issue.”