ABN AMRO targets net reduction of 5,200 jobs by 2028
Key Facts
ABN AMRO is targeting a net reduction of 5,200 full-time equivalents in its workforce by 2028, compared with its 2024 level, under a strategy covering 2026 to 2028. The bank announced the plan on 25 November 2025 at its Capital Markets Day. The target places job cuts within a broader programme to simplify and digitise its structure and operations, rather than a path based on automation alone. Chief Executive Marguerite Bérard said the bank had announced a workforce reduction of about 20% by 2028, describing the decisions as "difficult." She added that most of the plan depends on matters the bank can control, and that implementation had already begun in 2025.
The bank said about half of the expected reduction would come through natural attrition, meaning the plan also includes other ways to reduce staff numbers. At the strategy announcement, it said it had completed a reduction of more than 1,000 full-time equivalents from the start of 2025 through that date. Fourth-quarter results later showed that headcount fell by about 1,500 full-time equivalents during 2025, equivalent to nearly 30% of the planned reduction through 2028. In the first quarter of 2026, headcount fell by 528 full-time equivalents, bringing progress to about 40% of the target since the end of 2024. The bank said at the time that the pace of cuts was likely to slow during the rest of the year.
In the second quarter of 2026, the number of full-time equivalents fell by 253, taking cumulative progress since the end of 2024 to about 45% of the 2028 target. This marked continued implementation of the plan in the quarters after its announcement, with more than half of the overall target still outstanding at the end of that quarter. Meanwhile, the bank said nearly 50 artificial intelligence use cases were operational during the same period. Applications included a voice bot for customers and a knowledge assistant for know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering analysts. In the first quarter, the bank said 85% of its employees had used AI, and that it had expanded its adviser assistant to new groups and the video banking channel.
The bank describes technology as a central part of reorganising its operations, alongside structural and operational measures. The plan includes reducing the number of legal entities, simplifying processes and digitising them end to end. It also involves phasing out legacy systems, expanding the use of application programming interfaces and integrating AI. These steps link workforce reductions to redesigning the work and the systems that support it, rather than limiting the effort to direct job cuts. The bank has not described automation as the primary means of achieving the reduction, but has presented it as part of a broader set of technological and organisational changes.
The financial targets announced for 2028 provide context for the plan: the bank is targeting a return on equity of at least 12%, a cost-to-income ratio below 55% and revenue of more than 10 billion euros. In the second quarter of 2026, net profit rose 29% year on year to 781 million euros, and return on equity reached 12.1%. The bank also lowered its 2026 cost guidance to 5.5 billion euros, including the impact of NIBC, after underlying costs were broadly stable in the second quarter. Workforce reductions therefore progressed alongside profit growth and an improved return, as the bank continues to link its operational transformation to its financial targets.
The restructuring is proceeding alongside changes to the bank's portfolio. Bérard said the bank aims to complete its planned acquisition of NIBC in the second half of 2026, while the plan also includes the sale of personal-loan company Alfam. A near-term date for investors is the publication of third-quarter 2026 results on 11 November 2026, according to the bank's financial calendar. The results will allow investors to track progress on the reduction after the bank reached about 45% of its target in the second quarter. They will also provide an update on the bank's performance as the restructuring continues. The announced reduction figures remain tied to a specific net target compared with 2024, rather than the number of jobs to be eliminated in a single period.