Estonia approves digital-state reform, cutting 200 jobs

The number of state IT houses drops from ten to six. The state ICT centre RIT will be merged into the RIA agency by early 2027 and the state communications foundation RIKS by summer 2029; the registers and information systems centre RIK will be reshaped in the second half of 2026 into the nationwide development centre “Digiriigi Keskus” (internationally: GovTech Estonia). A state chief IT architect post and an artificial-intelligence competence centre are being created within RIA. After three years the consolidation is expected to save around €11 million a year in administrative costs.

The Estonian government approved the reform's final decisions on Thursday, 16 July 2026. Of the roughly 1,900 people currently employed across the state IT houses, about ten percent — some 200 posts — will go over three years, mainly duplicated support functions; at the same time demand for more highly qualified specialists is rising, so part of the existing roles will be reshaped. Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa Pakosta justifies the reform with an IT landscape that grew fragmented along ministerial lines over many years. In future, new systems may no longer duplicate what a central solution already provides.