DThe foundations of the US billionaire and philanthropist George Soros (93) want to significantly reduce their work in Europe. A large part of the workers on the continent is to be laid off, like the founders of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) announced to their staff in Berlin. This emerges from an internal e-mail and from statements by employees who describe the decision as painful and unexpected.
The announced cuts in Europe would mark a historic break with Soros’ commitment to civil society through education, human rights work and policy research, which the investor began more than 30 years ago in his native Hungary.
The strategic change of course coincides with an announcement by Soros’ son Alex that he is switching to a new business model. It was the first major step since Alex Soros took over as head of the billionaire foundation in December. According to their own statements, recipients of funding in Europe were not directly informed of the planned change in strategy by OSF – they are now reacting with disbelief.
Soros’ successor speaks out in a statement
“The Open Society Foundations are changing the way they work, but my family and OSF have long supported the European project and remain strongly committed to it,” Alex Soros said in a statement. The foundation said it would continue to support “the promotion of democracy and the fight against authoritarianism in Europe and the civil society sector that is essential to these goals.”
Funded organizations complained that removing support for human rights, political participation or digital protection in the European Union would be a strategic mistake. They questioned whether the foundation had already made a final decision about it. The lack of communication and uncertainty hurt the OSF’s reputation, they told the AP. The foundations supported a wide range of issues, including those related to minorities, democracy and freedom of the press.
Alexander “Alex” Soros
Credit: picture alliance/Everett Collection/Steve Mack
In an e-mail from Thorsten Klassen, director of the Berlin OSF office, to the workforce on July 20, it was said that “the new strategic orientation that has been decided provides for a withdrawal and termination of large parts of our current work in the European Union”. One reason for the change of direction is that the EU has provided public funds for human rights and pluralism and the OSF wants to use its resources differently.
The layoffs in Spain should be through by January
According to the Mail, the foundations proposed laying off 80 percent of the employees in the Berlin offices – subject to negotiations with the unions. According to employees, at least 60 percent of the workforce in Brussels should be laid off, as well as an unknown number in London. In January, the OSF had already announced to its team in Barcelona that the office there would be closed. Most employees then decided to leave the company. All layoffs should be completed by January.
The foundations did not deny the numbers when asked. The “recalibration of our work in the European Union” is part of larger organizational changes, it said. The Management Board approved the new “opportunity model” at the end of June. The 12-page document offers some pointers, but little clarity about the immediate future plans of the foundations. In the future, the work should be geared towards “opportunities” instead of programs. Opportunities are defined as “works organized around clear, ambitious goals”.
“I have no idea how this decision came about”
What those opportunities will be has yet to be determined – another source of resentment among some workers. They ask themselves: how can the OSF be sure that it does not want to continue its work in Europe if it has not yet decided on its future priorities?
Funded organizations are also stunned. “We are probably several hundred groups here in Europe and we have no idea how this decision came about,” says Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committees. The human rights group has long been sponsored by OFS. “If we look at the European Union, we see no justification for reducing support for human rights, democracy and marginalized groups.” Among other things, the war in Ukraine, the erosion of the rule of law in Hungary and Poland, and the election of an ultra-right government in Italy are reasons to question the future of democracy in Europe, said Pardavi and others.
In contrast to other major donors or the EU Commission, the OSF often provides money faster and more flexibly than is the case with project-based funding. In addition, there is strategic and legal support, advice on communication and networking. In addition, according to employees and those receiving funding, the OSF has great lobbying influence in the EU. In this respect, the foundations are much more than just a source of funding and harder to replace, they say.
Pardavi and others like Paris law professor Alberto Alemanno fear that conservative movements that oppose abortion rights and LGBTQ rights, for example, could benefit from the OSF’s withdrawal from Europe. The relevant donors could “find access to Europe much more easily because there are no balancing forces,” says Alemanno.