Dutch bank ABN Amro is cutting its full-time headcount from 5,000 staff to 1,800 and taking on 2,000 staff from outside after signing several deals with IT services companies.
The company is outsourcing its infrastructure and application development to Accenture, IBM, Infosys, Patni and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), in contracts worth a total of €1.8bn (£1.2bn). The bank is aiming to save around €258m (£176m).
The initiative will result in an IT organisation of about 1,800 full-time equivalent posts, compared to a total of about 5,000 working in IT within the bank worldwide.
About 2,000 full-time equivalent posts will be transferred to the IT services firms, of which a majority will go to IBM.
The bank, which is in talks with unions about the employment terms of the various contracts, said the total estimated IT staff reduction will be 1,500 full-time equivalent posts over the next 18 months.
