Dutch government plans to replace 25,000 civil servants with AI, save billions annually

The Dutch government is shrinking its record-high workforce, banking on AI to boost productivity and save roughly $3.9 billion annually.

In Short

• The Netherlands plans to cut 25,000 government jobs by 2035 to build a smaller and smarter workforce.
• Central government employment has risen 41% since 2018 to 160,000.
• Police and defence remain protected while some ministries face deep reductions.

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tech buzzword. It is now actively taking over jobs that humans used to do. In a massive structural change, the Dutch government has announced that it will cut around 25,000 central government jobs over the next few years. Instead of hiring humans, the government will rely heavily on AI and automation to get the daily work done.

The push for a smaller, smarter government

The main reason behind this massive job cut is simply to save money. The central government aims to save €900 million a year by 2027. This savings target will eventually go up to a massive €3.5 billion (around $3.9 billion) every year starting in 2035. According to a recent government statement, this cost-cutting drive translates to roughly 25,000 jobs being phased out over several years.

Currently, the central government workforce in the Netherlands is at a record high of about 160,000 employees. This number has surged by 41% since 2018, even though previous cabinets promised to scale back hiring.

Eric van den Burg, the State Secretary for Effective Government, made the government's stance very clear. He stated that they cannot keep doing what they have been doing. He added that the government is ready to make tough choices to build a system that is simpler, smarter, and smaller.

AI to do the heavy lifting

To make up for the missing human workforce, the Dutch parliament wants to use AI to boost overall government productivity by 20%. Early next year, the cabinet will present a detailed plan outlining exactly how artificial intelligence will be deployed to make government operations more productive.

This overhaul is part of a much bigger push to modernise how the government functions. The government plans to standardise IT systems across different departments to clear up technical clutter. They are also cutting down on physical office space by bringing in a "one desk for every two employees" rule and selling off extra government buildings.

Furthermore, they aim to cut red tape by simplifying or removing at least 500 rules every year. Going forward, when employees leave their current roles, the government will check if a machine or AI can handle their workload before hiring a human replacement.

Who is safe and the financial picture

Not all departments will face the axe. Critical sectors like the police and defence forces are strictly protected from these job cuts. However, other ministries and policy-making agencies will see heavy reductions, with some departments expected to face massive workforce cuts of 45 to 60%.

Interestingly, the Dutch government's budget deficit of 1.8% is actually one of the smallest in the European Union. However, the Netherlands has a strong reputation for being fiscally conservative, and long-term financial worries are pushing them to act now.

This move makes the Netherlands one of the first European nations to officially replace a massive chunk of its public sector workforce with AI-driven automation.

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