COWLEY-BASED charity Oxfam could make some staff redundant as it tries to fill a £16m shortfall in its budget, it has emerged.

If the plan goes ahead it would be the second cutback in the two years since employees were accused of sexual misconduct in Haiti.

In a leaked memo to staff, chief executive Danny Sriskandarajah warned of a ‘difficult time’ and said ‘the (budget) gap must be filled primarily by reducing our core costs’.

Oxford Mail:

Oxfam had income of £434m in the year 2018-2019 but the memo said it faces a deficit of £7m for 2019-2020 and a further deficit of £9m in 2020-2021 unless action is taken.

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According to The Times. Mr Sriskandarajah said he would be bringing forward plans to ‘review the size and shape of Oxfam GB’ and the process would begin by reducing the number of senior managers.

After the Haiti scandal, when The Times revealed a cover-up of serious sexual misconduct, Oxfam cut 100 staff after donations declined sharply.

Oxford Mail:

While Oxfam shops last month had their best Christmas in eight years, the memo said this would not solve the financial challenges the charity faced.

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The memo said investment in the charity’s compliance and assurance framework has been expensive but added that Oxfam has also been hit by factors affecting the charity sector as a whole.

Oxford Mail:

The Charities Aid Foundation’s 2019 report on donations found a steady decline in people giving to charity combined with a significant loss of trust in charities. International humanitarian organisations were also affected.

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In September the charity opened a new superstore at its Cowley headquarters.

The 18,500 sq ft warehouse is based at Oxford Business Park.