Dutch Government Plans 25,000 Job Cuts in AI Efficiency Push

The Dutch government plans to cut 16 percent of its workforce and get rid of 25,000 full-time jobs by 2035 as part of a cost-cutting and AI efficiency push. The cabinet aims to reduce costs by 900 million euros, about $1 billion, by 2027, with that target rising to 3.5 billion euros, about $3.9 billion, by 2035. Police and defense are excluded from the job reductions.

Cost Targets and Job Reductions

The cabinet said the positions would be eliminated over the span of several years, and that the government would lean on AI to contribute to productivity as the reductions proceed. Not every government agency will be affected, it said.

AI Plans Still Taking Shape

It is unclear how the government plans to deploy AI to reduce costs. The cabinet said it will "come up with goals and savings plans for deploying AI to work more productively" in the first quarter of 2027. Earlier reports from Dutch news outlets said that the government had been planning to incorporate AI in its cost savings efforts since earlier this year. As reported by Bloomberg, van der Burg wants to "apply AI even more broadly," after several AI initiatives have already been established across different government sectors.

Broader Efficiency Push

The country's state secretary, Eric van der Burg, wrote in a letter to the Dutch parliament that this overall effort was part of a push to make the government "simpler, smart and smaller." The cabinet announced the plans on Oct. 26, 2026.

Sources: Engadget