American Cancer Society cuts 1,000 jobs, as pandemic affects fundraising

The American Cancer Society said Thursday that due to the coronavirus pandemic hurting its fundraising efforts, it has had to lay off about 1,000 employees across the U.S.

Based in Atlanta, the American Cancer Society is the country's largest nongovernmental supporter of cancer research. In 2018, the nonprofit invested $147 million in cancer research and $269 million in patient support, ABC News reports.

In a statement, the American Cancer Society said it has had to reduce its overall budget by about 30 percent, "with cuts to both non-personnel and personnel expenses." Executives have seen their salaries slashed between 10 to 20 percent and the nonprofit is expecting to have, at minimum, a shortfall of $200 million.

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The American Cancer Society is focusing on trying to raise money digitally, and is moving events like its signature Relay for Life online. However, "if current revenue trends continue, we could be forced to cut our research work by 50 percent," a spokesperson told ABC News. "This could be painful because the American Cancer Society is one of the largest funders of cancer research in the world, and cancer patients cannot afford anything less than research work moving full speed ahead."