Italy’s government is cutting thousands of school jobs amid a declining birth rate

The Italian government has approved cutting nearly 7,000 education jobs starting in the 2027–2028 school year, amid a declining birth rate and a shrinking number of students. The measure affects 4,925 teaching positions and 2,049 support staff positions.

The budget bill also provides for limiting the replacement of retiring employees to 75%. The government estimates that the measures will generate savings of €336 million in the 2027–2028 school year.

The decision has drawn criticism from unions, school principals and the opposition. They argue that the demographic decline should be used to reduce class sizes and improve the quality of education, not to cut staff. The UIL union warns that the cuts will deepen precariousness in a system already affected by a lack of resources.

The new cuts add to those adopted previously: 5,660 teaching positions and 2,174 non-teaching positions were eliminated under the 2025 budget. The number of students in primary and secondary education fell from 8.4 million in 2017–2018 to 7.7 million in 2024–2025.

The government led by Giorgia Meloni cites budgetary pressures, the deficit ceiling imposed by the European Union and rising energy costs. Italy is facing one of Europe’s most serious demographic crises, a phenomenon also present in Romania, where the elderly population is increasingly outnumbering young people.