UK Government Wants to Cut up to 91,000 Civil Service Jobs in 3 Years

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R), flanked by Britain's Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Simon Case, chairs a Cabinet meeting at a pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, on May 12, 2022. Oli Scarff /Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The British government intends to cut up to 91,000 civil service jobs—almost a fifth of the current total—within three years, the UK’s top civil servant has said.

In a letter to civil servants, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said the government aims to return to 2016 staffing levels, as the number of civil servants has grown “substantially” since then.