United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has tasked staff with reducing budgets in anticipation of the 2026 budgetary vote as part of a broader reform initiative called the UN80 Initiative.

These budget reductions coincide with efforts by the Trump administration to cut costs, partly through the use of DOGE. In March, Guterres expressed concerns about U.S. funding cuts to the U.N., emphasizing that “implementing these funding cuts will make the world less healthy, less secure, and less prosperous.” The U.S., being the largest contributor to the UN, has provided billions in recent years and currently covers about a third of its budget.

However, organizational belt-tightening does not appear to have hit senior-level U.N. staff. 

“The American people are unaware of this,” a diplomatic source informed Fox News Digital. “Those appointed to assist the world’s poor enjoy more benefits than any investment bank.”

In response to questions about Fox News Digital’s source’s statements about U.N. employee compensation being on par with that of an investment banker, Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the assertion was “ludicrous” and “demonstrates an ignorance of both the United Nations and the investment banking worlds.”

Dujarric did not deny that the 2026 budget proposal includes no cutting of senior personnel or benefits. “The budget proposal for 2026 was prepared before the launch of the UN80 initiative,” he said. “We are currently working on identifying efficiencies, including reductions in post, and a revised proposal will be submitted to the General Assembly in the Fall for its deliberations, which usually take place between October and December.” 

Dujarric added that the International Civil Service Commission, an independent group of 15 expert appointees which creates the system of salaries, benefits and allowances for the U.N., is “undertaking a comprehensive review of the compensation package for the international Professional and higher category of staff,” with the results due for presentation in 2026. 

“The secretary-general has no authority of the decisions of the ICSC or the appointment of its members,” he said.