Dutch ABN Amro announces up to 1,375 job cuts
The Netherlands' third largest bank ABN Amro said Monday it will slash up to 1,375 jobs over the next three years partly for cost-cutting and to move more towards digitalisation of banking services.
"In order to save costs some 650 to 975 full-time jobs will be cut in 2017, running to between 975 to 1,375 jobs by 2020," ABN Amro said in statement to employees, which was also released to the press.
The Amsterdam-listed ABN Amro announced in August it wanted to shave some 200 million euros ($224 million) annually off its 800-million-euro budget set aside for non-core support services, a spokesman said.
Around a quarter will be slashed from funds for so-called "out-of-pocket" services such as external employees and hiring outside consultancy and communications firms, the bank added.
"The rest will come from downsizing regular jobs," it said.
This will come from the bank's own support service departments such as risk, finance, human resources, legal and communications, ABN Amro spokesman Jeroen van Maarschalkerweerd told AFP.
"It will now be up to the different departments to come up with where exactly the cuts will be made," he said.
ABN Amro is also simplifying its systems as banking becomes more digital and clients demand greater speed in handling their financial affairs, he added.
"We want less bureaucracy, less doubling up of jobs, more digitalisation with investment in IT and a number of growth initiatives in the bank in energy, transport and commodities," Van Maarschalkerweerd said.
Seven years after it was nationalised in the wake of the 2008 banking crisis, ABN Amro made a record return to the Amsterdam bourse in December in what has been regarded as one of the largest IPOs by a European lender since the crisis.
With the IPO, the Dutch government, which bailed out the bank at the time, is now hoping to recover some of the 22 billion euros spent propping up the bank.
Monday's announcement was criticised by Dutch employers' unions who said although the cuts did not come as a surprise, clarity over exactly where they will fall showed "lack of vision" from management.