AT least 10,000 jobs will be cut in the Civil Service – with AI taking over key roles, Rachel Reeves has declared.
The Chancellor said the axe will fall on “back-office” staff in a £2billion-a-year cost-cutting drive.
PARachel Reeves declared at least 10,000 jobs will be cut in the Civil Service – with AI taking over key roles[/caption]
She confirmed departments will be ordered to slash administrative budgets by 15 per cent by the end of the decade, starting with a ten per cent cut by 2028.
Ms Reeves told Sky News “a number of briefing roles can now be done by technology” and praised the tax office for already using AI to detect fraud and save taxpayers’ cash.
Asked if AI would replace staff rather than support them, she admitted: “A bit of both.”
She said she was “confident” at least 10,000 roles could go.
But a government source said the real figure is likely to be in the “tens of thousands”.
Civil Service staffing has soared by 130,000 since 2016 — hitting a 20-year high of more than 514,000.
Ms Reeves said it was right to take on more people during Covid but added: “It’s not right that we just keep those numbers there forever.”
Functions set to be hit include HR, communications, policy, procurement and office management, spending on travel, consultants and quangos.
Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden will issue formal orders this week.
The cuts will form a major part of Wednesday’s Spring Statement, where the Chancellor is expected to unveil £10billion in cuts.
Public and Commercial Services union general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “If the last government taught us anything it’s that you can’t cut your way to growth.”
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer is projected to blow through £6.43trillion by the next election, analysis has found.
He is set to be the second highest-spending PM since World War Two, behind Boris Johnson, the TaxPayers’ Alliance said.
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