Report: Amsterdam could shed hundreds of jobs

The Amsterdam city council has a plan to structurally save 65 million euros, which entails maybe cutting 500 jobs. A survey among Amsterdam officials shows that 25 percent of them fear for their jobs, NRC reports. The Central Works Council Amsterdam is furious about this plan. The Council calls the percentage of officials fearing for their jobs "absurdly high", pointing out that i the business sector, this fear only exists in 10 percent of employees. The city council plans to cut back 20 million next year. From 2017 the city council hopes to structurally save 65 million on the municipal organization. Mario Sariano, vice-president of CWC Amsterdam, fears that these savings will be at the cost of service. "The officials do not understand the need for this plan. They say en masse that service will become subpar." In 2014 Amsterdam had 16 thousand civil servants responsible for providing service to more than 800 thousand residents. This translates to 19 officials per 1,000 people, well above the average of 11 officials per 1,000 people in other large municipalities - reason for the city council to cut a large number of jobs. Last year the Central Works Council Amsterdam showed that the municipality can save much more by cutting down on the external forces and freelancers. According to the CWC, in 2013 these forces cost at least 200 million euros.