New development: The paradox of ambitious intentions and poor outcomes of cutbacks on the government’s workforce

The article discusses why politicians are keen on propagating the reduction of staff numbers. The starting point is the recently established cutback programme for workforce reduction in the Dutch central government by around 20%. The authors critically analyse this programme and position it in an historical context of similar programmes in the Netherlands, cutback management literature and through an international comparison of workforce expenditures. Finally, the authors propose a model for conceptualizing politicians’ motives in cutback management.