Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
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.
Eurofound (2016), Rabobank, Internal restructuring in Netherlands, factsheet number 87369, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/87369.
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