Rutte is cutting jobs at NATO - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is cutting jobs at the world's most powerful military alliance as part of a major restructuring.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is cutting jobs at the world's most powerful military alliance as part of a major restructuring, Politico reports, citing sources, writes UNN.
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"Rutte, who took over as NATO chief last October, plans to eliminate two divisions and cut dozens of jobs at its Brussels headquarters, " the publication writes, citing three current NATO officials and one former senior official.
"He's essentially applying DOGE principles to NATO," one alliance official said, referring to the radical cuts to the US federal government by the special DOGE department led by Elon Musk earlier this year.
The reorganization, previously unreported, comes amid fears that a NATO-skeptic US President Donald Trump could one day withdraw from the military alliance and ahead of a crucial summit starting Tuesday in The Hague, which the US leader is due to attend.
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The reforms also come against a complex geopolitical and defense backdrop, with wars shaking Ukraine and the Middle East, and the Trump administration repeatedly warning that the US might take a back seat in the future when it comes to European security.
When Rutte took the helm from Jens Stoltenberg last year after the latter's decade in charge, he used his inaugural speech to declare there was “work to do” to improve NATO. “My job is to make sure that… we continue to adapt our alliance to a more complex world,” he said.
The former Dutch prime minister wasted no time restructuring the alliance's bureaucracy.
He has held two internal staff meetings in recent months to announce a wave of changes, including cutting NATO’s international divisions from eight to six. The divisions slated for the chop are the Public Diplomacy Division, which functions as NATO’s press office, and the Executive Management Division, the alliance’s HR department.
Their functions will largely be absorbed by other divisions. But the positions of assistant secretaries general – division chiefs appointed by the secretary general with the input of the alliance’s member countries – will simply cease to exist, one official with direct knowledge confirmed to the publication.
Dozens of jobs will eventually be cut as part of the reorganization, another official said, adding that the cuts “don’t appear substantial” and staff will also be hired.
“This is what happens when you have a new secretary general,” a former senior NATO official said when asked about Rutte’s plans to restructure the alliance.
The former senior official said Rutte’s reform was not as reckless as Musk’s infamous US Government Efficiency Department initiative, which saw US federal civil servants sacked and US agencies shut with little warning, although in many cases staff were eventually rehired.
"This is being done by people on the inside who really understand the priorities, the existing structures and processes," the official said. "So it's a much more long-term, considered process than DOGE."
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NATO headquarters in Brussels employs about 4,000 people, including around 1,500 international staff for whom Rutte is responsible.
Many of these are fixed-term or "temps" — often younger, more junior staff on short, six-month contracts. Two current officials said there was a noticeable shift towards cutting back on temporary positions and converting more posts into permanent ones.
"It's difficult to achieve consistency if you are constantly transitioning from one temp role to another," said a former senior NATO official, adding that discussions about reducing reliance on staff with high turnover began before Rutte.
Rutte, dubbed "Trump whisperer" for his ability to charm the unpredictable US president, will spend the next three-and-a-half years trying to ensure Trump does not withdraw from the alliance, as he has repeatedly threatened to do, the publication notes.
Part of Rutte's pitch to Trump and other allies next week will be that he can make NATO more efficient and use its resources "wisely and economically," said VUB associate professor and Egmont senior fellow Alexander Mattelaer.
The secretary general appears to have carried out his cuts "in close cooperation" with the US, Mattelaer added.
While the reforms are "rather symbolic measures" and unlikely to free up much cash, they reflect discussions among NATO countries about "how much in euros and dollars to put into the civilian budget and how much into the military budget."
Speaking on behalf of the alliance, a senior NATO official, responding to questions about the staffing cuts, said: "Secretary General Rutte is committed to an efficient and effective NATO and has initiated a reorganization to optimize NATO headquarters’ activities."
The reorganization process, which includes staff input and has been endorsed by allies, is ongoing, the representative added.