Job losses in research kick in as UK aid cuts start to bite

Research leaders try to protect junior and overseas partners as one describes “career low point”

Drastic reductions in research funding from the UK’s international development budget have led to job losses in the UK and overseas, according to researchers heading up projects facing major cuts.

Leaders of the Global Challenges Research Fund hubs, which have seen their budgets cut by around 70 per cent in 2021-22, told Research Professional News that they have prioritised the livelihoods of early-career researchers and colleagues in developing countries, but that some redundancies have been unavoidable as projects are scaled back.