Netherlands plans to cut up to 60% of civil servants in some departments

The Dutch government is preparing cuts of up to 60% of staff in some ministries and agencies, as part of a plan to eliminate 25,000 public jobs with the help of artificial intelligence. The goal is to save 3.5 billion euros a year from 2035.

The Dutch cabinet has put in writing something that until recently sounded like office futurism: it is going to shrink its central administration with artificial intelligence as the justification. The letter sent to Parliament by the State Secretary for an Effective Public Administration, **Eric van den Burg**, mentions staff cuts that in ministries, inspectorates and executive agencies can reach **45%** and, in some departments, **60%**. It is not a uniform axe: police and defence are excluded.

## From 160,000 civil servants to 25,000 fewer

At the end of 2025, the number of central government employees reached a record **160,000**, **41%** more than in 2018. That growth peine despite previous cabinets' promises to slim down the workforce. The current plan aims to eliminate some **25,000 jobs** spread over several years, according to Monday's government statement.

The savings have a timetable. By **2027** the central government wants to cut **900 million euros a year**. From **2035**, the figure would rise to **3.5 billion every year**. The fine print will come early next year, when the cabinet presents the concrete plans to deploy AI and improve productivity, as Bloomberg reported.

## Red tape is being cut too

Van den Burg is not selling technology alone. His programme includes eliminating **500 rules** a year that are unnecessary or excessively bureaucratic, on the idea that a simpler administration needs fewer people. "We cannot keep doing things the way we have until now," the state secretary said. "We are going to make tough decisions to achieve a central government that really works: simpler, smarter and smaller."

The irony of the matter is that the Netherlands is not under pressure. Its public deficit is **1.6%**, among the lowest in Europe, and public debt stands at **44% of GDP**, according to Eurostat. For comparison: Spain is around **100%** and France **119%**. The economy is also doing well: ING revised third-quarter GDP growth up to **0.8%** quarter-on-quarter, versus the 0.5% expected, and unemployment is around **4%**.

## Why a country with healthy finances cuts anyway

Here is the key that explains the move. Dutch fiscal prudence is not a national trait, it is a policy. A country with a low deficit and contained debt has room to push through unpopular reforms without the markets breathing down its neck. And current public spending, the kind that grows on its own, is the biggest medium-term concern.

The precedent of the record workforce weighs heavily. Between 2018 and 2025 the central government added **41%** more employees, and previous reduction plans failed. Now the executive is combining two levers: fewer rules and more AI. AI initiatives already exist in various areas of government, and the stated goal is to apply it "even more broadly".

It remains to be seen how the cuts fit with a labour market with low unemployment, where relocating 25,000 people is no trivial matter. The plan affects public employment and administrative services, so it is worth trinc the official figures when the cabinet details its plans in early 2026.