THE HAGUE - The Dutch agriculture cooperative Rabobank announced Wednesday it would cut more than a third of its local workforce, slashing 9,000 jobs over the next three years as it streamlines operations.
Rabobank emerged from small cooperative banks in the late 19th century serving farmers and horticulturists
"The job losses will be mainly in the back office and support functions and will come on top of the reduction of 3,000 jobs already planned," said the bank, which has almost 24,000 employees in the Netherlands.
The bank, which emerged from small cooperative banks in the late 19th century serving farmers and horticulturists, made the announcement as it unveiled "its strategic direction" for 2016-2018.
Rabobank wanted to ensure it can make a "substantial contribution to welfare and prosperity in the Netherlands" as well as to "feeding the world sustainably" by responding to changing consumer behaviour and new technological developments.
The job losses would be phased in over three years, and would be achieved partly through natural wastage.
Rabobank would "make every possible effort to avoid compulsory redundancies," the statement said.
From January 1, the bank will operate as one cooperative merging the 106 local Rabobanks -- a change which the member councils had already agreed to.
It is the third reorganisation to be put in place by the bank since 2011, which have already led to thousands of job losses.
It did not receive any state help during the 2008 financial crisis, and had been seen globally as a good model.
But its image was tarnished by revelations that from May 2005 and January 2011 it allowed money market traders to manipulate Libor (London InterBank Offered Rate) submissions to benefit foreign currency trading positions.