HRC to Lay Off 50 Employees
The Human Rights Campaign is planning to undergo a restructuring process that will see nearly 20% of its workforce laid off.
The Human Rights Campaign is laying off 20% of its workforce as part of a restructuring effort. About 50 employees will be let go starting on February 12, reports Christopher Wiggins in The Advocate.
The reduction is expected to leave HRC with around 180 staffers.
According to a senior HRC official, the decision reflects a need to “operate differently” in response to significantly decreased revenues.
In 2024, the LGBTQ advocacy group’s revenues were only $75 million — a significant drop from $85 million in 2023 — while its expenses totaled nearly $89 million.
According to available financial reports and IRS form 990s obtained by The Advocate, as of March 31, 2024, the organization’s net assets totaled $45.7 million, down from $58 million the year before. The organization’s combined revenue, between its main organization and its foundation, remains over $70 million, but one official told the news outlet that HRC’s leaders determined that current spending levels could not be maintained without restructuring.
The decision is not tied to one factor, however.
HRC officials acknowledged the increasingly hostile political climate in the United States, especially as President Donald Trump sets about issuing various executive orders attempting to erase transgender identity from law and rolling back LGBTQ-specific protections. State legislatures controlled by Republicans are taking similar measures to reduce LGBTQ visibility or restrict LGBTQ rights.
Speaking with The Advocate, HRC President and CEO Kelley Robinson acknowledged the seriousness of laying off employees but also noted that HRC’s financial realities coincide with a need to more deftly respond to the various efforts to strip away rights or legal protections from LGBTQ people.
“I think that any responsible organization right now needs to be thinking about what changes have to be made to address the world as it is today,” Robinson told the magazine.
According to Robinson, the restructuring will allow HRC to focus on initiatives where it believes it can have the greatest impact, specifically those relating to schools, workplaces, the advancement of pro-LGBTQ legislation, and political action.
“We’re sharpening our focus on where we can make the most impact,” she said. “This is about ensuring that we are agile and strategic in this moment.”
Robinson rejected assertions that the layoffs would weaken HRC’s influence or effectiveness.
“Our success has never been determined by the number of staff we have but by the impact that we make in the world,” she said. “We need to stay laser-focused on how we can create change.”
While several major corporations have vowed to stop participating in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, Robinson argues that many businesses still embrace the idea of fostering LGBTQ-supportive environments. Last year, over 1,400 businesses participated in the CEI.
HRC plans to undertake efforts to counter anti-LGBTQ disinformation, especially prevalent on social media, and will carry out new storytelling initiatives to emphasize the real-life impacts and consequences of anti-LGBTQ policies.
“We need to make sure that the American people understand that trans people aren’t a thought exercise — that we are in every zip code, every family, every race and region, and we are not going anywhere,” an unnamed HRC senior official told The Advocate. “But we also need to be strategic about how we amplify these voices in a way that shifts the national conversation.”
HRC held a staff meeting on February 4 to notify employees of the restructuring. Robinson said the organization will work with the Service Employees International Union, which represents HRC’s employees, to ensure laid-off workers are treated with dignity and respect.
Robinson, who is pregnant and expecting in the spring, also told The Advocate that she has made plans to leave a strong leadership team in place for when she takes maternity leave.
“A movement is bigger than any single person,” she said. “I am proud to have a great chief of staff, a great chief operating officer, and an incredible team here at the Human Rights Campaign that, even while I’m on maternity leave, will be helping to move things forward.”
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