Rabobank could cut 10,000 jobs by 2020

Rabobank is planning a drastic reorganization of its workforce, which could lead to between 8 thousand and 10 thousand layoffs in the next four years.

The Financieele Dagblad revealed this on Tuesday, based on interviews with sources both inside and outside the bank and the strategic document titled "Towards Strategic Framework 2016-2020", which the newspaper has in its possession.

According to FD editor Leon Willems, Rabobank is in a bit of a tight spot and is less profitable than its competitors ING and ABN Amro. The bank is also affected by international agreements on buffer capacities that banks are required to hold to over losses. These requirements are more severe for SME-loans and mortgages - exactly the two categories in which Rabobank has provided a large number of loans. "So they need to do something. They need to increase profitability and cut costs", Willems said, according to BNR.

The exact number of layoffs is not yet known, but based on the bank's ongoing restructuring plan, Willems expects around 8 thousand over the next four years. A number of unions expects the layoffs to fall around 10 thousand.

Rabobank employs a total of 46,500 people, 30 thousand of which in the Netherlands.