Netherlands Announces Plan to Cut 25,000 Government Jobs Through AI and Efficiency Reforms

Dutch State Secretary Eric van der Burg has unveiled an ambitious government efficiency plan targeting the elimination of approximately 25,000 civil service positions by 2035, leveraging artificial intelligence and administrative restructuring to meet aggressive fiscal consolidation goals. The Dutch cabinet faces mounting pressure to reduce expenditure, with annual savings requirements of €900 million in 2027 escalating to €3.5 billion by the target year. The workforce reductions represent a 16 percent reduction in the central government's civil service, which swelled to 160,000 employees by the end of 2025—a 41 percent increase since 2018.