Netherlands to replace 25,000 government jobs with AI in efficiency drive to save 3.5 billion

Date:
Tue, 27 Oct 2026 10:13:04 +0000

Description:
The Dutch government is looking to increase productivity by 20%, and apparently cutting 25,000 jobs will help them get there.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter 25,000 Dutch government jobs will be cut by 2035, new plans say The Netherlands is looking to save 3.5 billion by 2035 Selling off buildings, simplifying rules, and smaller desks will also contribute to the savings The Dutch government has announced plans to phase out 25,000 jobs by 2035 in an effort to increase efficiency with the end goal of saving 3.5 billion ($3.9 billion), amounting to about 16% of the governments total workforce.

According to plans laid out by Dutch State Secretary for Kingdom Relations
and Effective Government Eric van der Burg, the cuts will save 900 million
($1 billion) by 2027 while AI will deliver increased productivity to take up the additional workload. "We cannot keep doing what we did," Van der Burg said. "That is why we are going to make sharp choices for a central
government that really works: simpler, smarter and smaller." Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Smaller desks and AI part of savings plans The plans hope to deliver a 20% productivity boost by using AI to increase efficiency, while simultaneously reducing the total government workload by simplifying rules. To that end, the Dutch government also has a plan in place to scrap or simplify at least 500 rules a year.

But AI isnt the only way the government is looking to reduce costs. New rules will see pairs of employees sharing a single desk, surplus buildings sold
off, and IT systems standardized. You may like Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs while handing work over to AI Chief Executive says AI is 'icing on the cake' Dutch Government is the latest to ditch Microsoft US sanctions push Netherlands towards home-grown NixOS-based software AI has a $2.5 trillion problem and replacing 250 million jobs is the only way to solve it

While police and defense jobs are not being affected by the cuts, permanent advisory councils and advisory committees are not. The government will
release new targets for the number of advisory bodies later this year, with current numbers sitting at 28 and 150 respectively.

According to Bloomberg several motions - albeit voluntary motions - to increase productivity using AI have already been passed. These motions are a catalyst for the resulting job and spending cuts, according to Van der Burg. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The Dutch government has seen a record number of central government
officials, peaking at 160,000 by the end of 2025 - a rise of 41% since 2018 according to Bloomberg . Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/netherlands-to-replace-25-000-government-jobs-wi th-ai-in-efficiency-drive-to-save-eur3-5-billion


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