Netherlands Plans to Cut 25,000 Civil-Service Jobs in AI Efficiency Drive

The Dutch government has announced plans to cut roughly 25,000 full-time positions by 2035, representing about 16 percent of the civil-service workforce. Police and defence are excluded from the reductions, while other government agencies face varying levels of cuts. The government's cost targets are set at €900 million by 2027, rising to €3.5 billion by 2035. State Secretary Eric van der Burg wrote in a letter to the Dutch parliament that the effort is designed to make the government "simpler, smart and smaller." Artificial intelligence is central to that ambition: the cabinet has committed to publishing detailed AI implementation goals and savings plans in the first quarter of 2027, though no AI-linked savings figures have yet been tied to specific roles. AI initiatives are already running across several government sectors, and as reported by Bloomberg, van der Burg has said he wants to "apply AI even more broadly" to boost productivity across public administration.