Type
Internal restructuring
Country
Netherlands
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Netherlands
Sector
Financial Services
Financial And Insurance Activities
Financial Service Activities, Except Insurance And Pension Funding
64.9 - Other financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding
European Globalisation Fund (EGF)
Year: 2018, Case number: 1

1,500 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
21 April 2016
Employment effect (start)
Foreseen end date

Description

The Dutch bank Rabobank announced that it will cut 1,500 jobs by closing 97 out of its 105 call centres, affecting regional locations all across the Netherlands. This internal restructuring is part of the reduction of 9,000 white-collar back office and support services jobs between 2016 and 2018 which was announced on 9 December 2015. The overall restructuring is intended to improve the Rabobank's financial situation and to fit in with a more client-centred strategy. The bank announced that they intend to minimise forced redundancies as much as possible, relying instead on natural reduction of the workforce through retirement and job changes, as well as reduction of external staff. However, as in this instance, some forced redundancies are inevitable. Remaining call centre employees will work at centralised call centres, although the location is unknown as of April 2016. The unions had responded to the December announcement negatively, questioning the viability of improving clients' experience while reducing personnel, both because of workload and because of demotivating effects of consecutive mass job losses. The 1,500 job losses are the first concrete implementation of the 9,000 job losses announced in 2015, which in turn came on top of the 10,000 job losses which were announced in 2011, 2012, February and July 2013, and 2014.


Sources

  • 21 April 2016: fd.nl
  • 21 April 2016: Algemeen Dagblad

Citation

Eurofound (2016), Rabobank, Internal restructuring in Netherlands, factsheet number 87369, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/87369.