Berlin – The federal government promises to cut red tape and reduce administrative staff, yet it plans to add a significant number of civil service positions by 2027. Compared to the last full budget of the “traffic-light” coalition in 2024, the number of authorized civil service posts is set to rise by 13,324. In total, the draft budget provides for 310,487 authorized posts and staff positions within the direct federal administration—an increase of 12,347 over 2024. At the same time, personnel costs are rising to €51.62 billion. While a large share of this recent increase in positions is attributable to security and defense, the total headcount is growing even outside these areas—despite the coalition’s stated aim of cutting staff.
Civil servants become the primary driver of staff expansion
The 2024 federal budget provided for a total of 298,140 established posts and positions. By 2026, this figure is set to rise to 305,753. The draft budget for 2027 adds another 4,752 positions to the total. Consequently, the federal administration continues to expand for the time being, despite the Union and the SPD having announced plans to downsize.
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This trend is particularly evident among civil servants. According to the INSM, 9,008 civil service positions are being added between 2024 and 2026. The federal government plans to add another 4,316 in 2027. Combined, this represents a net increase of 13,324 positions compared to 2024. In contrast, the number of positions for salaried employees is falling slightly. Consequently, the additional staffing is increasingly concentrated in civil service roles.
Cutting red tape at odds with staffing trends
At the same time, the federal government is promoting a comprehensive reduction in bureaucracy. This initiative aims to relieve businesses and citizens of billions of euros in annual costs. The coalition also intends to significantly lower bureaucratic costs for the business sector. However, fewer regulations have not yet led to a reduction in the federal government’s workforce.
The coalition has also announced concrete savings regarding personnel. By 2029, staffing levels in the covered areas are set to drop by at least eight percent. The draft budget envisages a two percent reduction for 2027. However, numerous exceptions apply to security and defense agencies. As a result, 4,128 of the new positions created between 2026 and 2027 fall within these sectors. Yet even excluding these exceptions, the workforce is still growing by 624 positions.
Hiring More Civil Servants Creates Long-Term, Multi-Billion-Euro Obligations
Hiring new civil servants places a burden on the state budget that goes beyond mere ongoing salary costs. Every additional appointment creates long-term entitlements to pensions and healthcare benefits. Consequently, these obligations continue to have an impact for decades after the initial staffing decision is made. At the same time, immediate personnel costs are already rising sharply: the figure is set to increase from just under €45 billion in 2024 to a projected €51.62 billion by 2027.
The long-term trend points in only one direction. Since 2017, the total number of positions has grown from 257,069 to a planned 310,487 by 2027—an increase of more than 53,000 posts within a single decade. The number of established civil service positions is rising particularly sharply. Yet, the federal government promises leaner structures and reduced administrative overhead. So far, however, there is no sign of this shift in direction at the staffing level.
Author: Blackout News
Sources: ISM (01.09.26) – Welt (31.08.26)