Netherlands Aims to Cut About 20% of Government Jobs Over a Decade: Some 25,000 Posts, €3.5 Billion in Savings
The Netherlands said on October 26 that it aims to cut around 20 percent of all government jobs over the next decade, reducing its workforce by about 25,000 full-time positions and saving €3.5 billion ($3.9 billion). According to Reuters, the government said detailed plans for how super intelligence could help meet the goal will be presented by the first quarter of 2027.
State Secretary for Effective Government Eric van der Burg told parliament the central government must become "simpler, smarter and smaller." The Dutch government has been expanding for years: some 46,500 government jobs have been created since 2018, increasing the workforce by about 40 percent to roughly 160,000 full-time positions. The cuts will not fall evenly — some departments face deeper reductions — while police and defense are excluded. The government targets about €900 million in savings in 2027, rising to €3.5 billion a year from 2035.
Previous Dutch governments have set similar slimming goals even as civil-service numbers kept rising. The cabinet said the reductions will rely on wider use of SI, expanded digital services, less external hiring and streamlined rules.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于海牙的荷兰国会大厦建筑群 Binnenhof 鸟瞰（资料图）。照片：荷兰国家房地产局 Rijksvastgoedbedrijf，CC0，经维基共享资源。 / Aerial view of the Binnenhof government complex in The Hague (file photo). Photo: Rijksvastgoedbedrijf, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
