Staff working for Oxfam in the UK are to be made redundant following a drop in the charity’s income linked to recent sexual misconduct scandals.
The international development organisation has said it will be forced to lose staff around the world including about 100 staff in the UK.
The announcement came just days after the charity’s chief executive Mark Goldring finally bowed to pressure to stand down.
In a statement, the charity said: "We are having to reorganise our work in order to ensure we live within our means while doing all we can to protect the support we give to millions of people striving to escape poverty and survive humanitarian disasters.
"Some donors have paused new funding of our work pending reassurances.
"Sadly this will mean that we will lose some great people in our international programmes and in the UK. We are still working through the effect this will have on redundancies, but our estimate at the start of the process was that it could affect in the region of 100 staff in the UK.
"We very much appreciate the overwhelming majority of donors of all types who continue to actively support our life saving work. We look forward to resuming our partnerships with our other supporters as we reassure them that we can meet the high standards they expect of us and to which Oxfam adheres."
Oxfam has been severely criticised over its handling of claims of sexual misconduct by its staff in Haiti in 2011. It is currently subject to a Charity Commission inquiry into its safeguarding practices.
As a result it announced earlier this year it would put a halt to any bids for government funding through the Department for International Development until it could demonstrate higher safeguarding standards.
According to the Charity Commission, Oxfam has 4,986 staff in the United Kingdom, including a small number of staff in Scotland.
Nick Owen, of trade union Unite, which represents Oxfam staff, called on the organisations to appoint a new chief executive as soon as possible.
"Oxfam workers, many of whom have dedicated their lives to the charity, face losing their jobs through no fault of their own," he said. "Staff who remain may well have vastly different roles and responsibilities.
"Given the uncertainty Oxfam is facing, a new chief executive needs to be appointed as swiftly as possible so that they can assess what the charity needs to do to continue to function and take the organisation forward. This will reassure staff that everyone is working on the same page and those making the decision on jobs are dedicated to Oxfam’s long-term future."
In order to restore confidence in the international development sector Unite is urging all charities to adopt the 10 point plan included in its manifesto for cultural change.
The manifesto seeks to establish: “A culture where unacceptable behaviour is not tolerated, where people can report abuse or whistle-blow, and people will be held accountable for their actions and decisions. This focuses on inequality, power, labour rights and diversity.”
