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  • Netherlands to replace 25,000 government jobs with AI

    From Mike Powell@1:2320/107 to All on Tue Oct 27 09:22:12 2026
    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
    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."

    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.

    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.

    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 .

    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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    --- MultiMail/DOS
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)