Netherlands Plans to Cut About 25,000 Civil Service Jobs, With AI as One Tool

The Dutch government wants to eliminate around 25,000 jobs in central administration in the coming years. State Secretary Eric van der Burg presented the plan in a letter to parliament on 26 October, with artificial intelligence named as one of the tools for slimming down government offices.

What the government is promising

According to Parkiet, citing Bloomberg, around 25,000 jobs are to disappear from central administration within a few years. Savings are expected to reach 900 million euros a year by 2027 and up to 3.5 billion euros a year from 2035. DutchNews reports that this amounts to 16% of civil servants by 2035, and that Van der Burg has put a concrete number on the cuts for the first time.

The police and the military are among those exempt from the cuts. The biggest changes are expected to hit ministries, inspectorates and executive agencies. DutchNews notes that the departments facing reductions have not yet been named, and that overstretched agencies such as the tax office and the UWV benefits agency are likely not to be spared.

We can no longer keep doing things the old way. - Eric van der Burg, State Secretary for Decisive Government (according to Parkiet)

The role of AI

Parkiet writes that AI solutions already operate in some government offices but are to be rolled out on a much larger scale. Van der Burg pointed to parliamentary resolutions calling for a 20% increase in administrative efficiency through new technologies. AI is meant to help with document analysis, automating repetitive processes, searching data and drafting letters.

DutchNews does not give details of specific AI uses. Here AI is one of several tools, alongside standardising IT systems and simplifying regulations. In the coalition agreement between D66, VVD and CDA, the government committed to scrapping 500 rules a year.

Parkiet also reports that digital sovereignty and security are to be a priority, meaning domestic and European solutions come first, to avoid dependence on providers from outside Europe.

Caveats

Van der Burg admitted that not everything can be covered by efficiency gains. In DutchNews' account, he says choices will have to be made about what the state should do less of, or not do at all.

Parkiet adds that success depends not only on technology but also on the quality of systems, data protection, oversight of AI decisions and a smooth reorganisation. Automation alone does not guarantee a financial payoff.

What comes next

The cabinet is due to present a detailed plan for deploying artificial intelligence in early 2027. For now, it is unclear which departments will bear the greatest share of the savings.

For Polish readers, this is a signal that governments are starting to openly tie budget plans to the automation of office work.