Leusden-based software company Afas has become the first big Dutch firm to switch to a four day week, but will continue to pay its staff for five, saying artificial intelligence is making the move possible.

The company, which counts construction firm Dura Vermeer and maritime services group Van Oord among its 13,000 clients will remain closed on Fridays but will continue to provide support to customers.

“We are in a sort of rat race to boost productivity,” chief executive Bas van der Veldt told the Financieele Dagblad. “But any increase in profits usually goes to the owners and shareholders of a company, not the workers.” Introducing a four-day week can change that, he told the paper.

Sales per member of staff at the company have gone up from €30,000 to €450,000 in the 30 years since the firm was founded, Van der Veldt says. The company, with a workforce of 700, booked a net profit of almost €109 million last year.

He expects productivity to continue to grow to around €800,000 per staff member through the introduction of AI. “It is odd to think you can work less and yet become much more productive,” he said.

The move, which comes into effect in January next year, will also have a positive impact on worker morale and boost the company’s attractiveness as a place to work, the chief executive said.