The World Bank plans to eliminate all short-term consultancy positions by 2027 — a move that staff warn could upend project delivery, threaten visa security for foreign nationals, and erode the bank’s ability to draw on global expertise.
A September presentation to the board, seen by Devex, outlines proposals to fully phase out short-term consultants — or STCs — who currently make up roughly a quarter of the bank’s workforce, with no new appointments allowed after July 2026.
While officially capped at 120 workdays a year, many STCs work on rolling contracts that effectively make them full-time staff without benefits or job security. There are approximately 22,000 STCs at the bank, whose work is roughly equivalent to about 7,000 full-time staff.