The government spokesperson revealed that the Cabinet approved a review to extend the freeze on staffing levels for public organizations by another two years, until 2029.
On 25 August 2026, Ms. Ratchada Thanadirek, the spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office, stated that the Cabinet agreed to review its resolution from 11 February 2025, approving an extension of the freeze on staffing levels of public organizations from the original end date of fiscal year 2027 to fiscal year 2029. The Cabinet also canceled the previously scheduled review of staffing levels set for September 2026, as proposed by the Public Organizations Development and Promotion Committee (PODPC).
The extension aims to support the most efficient management of personnel in line with the government's policy to control state personnel expenses, as outlined in the Cabinet resolutions dated 14 July 2026 and 11 August 2026, which focus on reforming the overall public sector workforce management system.
Ms. Ratchada added that this resolution is part of broader public administration reforms concerning staffing levels and public sector structure. The goal is to freeze and reduce workforce size while improving the operational efficiency of public organizations through key measures such as cutting or ending unnecessary duties and activities to eliminate redundancies, applying digital technology concretely to replace staff increases, reducing positions that can be substituted by technology to only those necessary, and reskilling personnel by rapidly developing their digital skills to boost work efficiency and reduce the country's long-term personnel budget burden.