Dutch officials outline plans to eliminate 25,000 public jobs while adopting automation

The Dutch government plans to eliminate 25,000 full-time public sector jobs by 2035, reducing its central workforce by roughly 16% in a sweeping efficiency drive. State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Effective Government Eric van der Burg announced the cost-cutting initiative, which targets €900 million ($1 billion) in savings by 2027 and €3.5 billion ($3.9 billion) by 2035. The reductions will exclude police and defense personnel, though permanent advisory councils and committees face cuts. [1][2]

Ministers expect artificial intelligence to deliver a 20% productivity boost to absorb the workload of departing staff, with formal deployment goals scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. Beyond software, the government aims to scrap or simplify at least 500 regulations annually, sell off surplus state real estate, standardize IT platforms, and require pairs of civil servants to share single desks. [1][2]

The restructuring follows rapid expansion in the Dutch civil service, where staffing grew 41% after 2018 to peak at 160,000 central government officials by late 2025. Van der Burg argued the state cannot sustain previous spending patterns, citing existing voluntary AI initiatives as the catalyst for establishing a leaner, more automated administrative apparatus. [1]