ABN faces job turmoil over takeover

Three months of takeover turmoil surrounding ABN Amro are taking a toll on the Dutch bank as employees become increasingly frustrated, and rivals try to lure away talent.

ABN employs more than 100,000 people worldwide, including 23,000 in The Netherlands. If a consortium of Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Fortis wins a €71 billion bid for ABN, it could eliminate 19,000 jobs, including a third of the Dutch jobs.

Rival bidder Barclays, which made an all-share offer for ABN in April currently worth about €65 billion, has said it plans to axe 23,600 jobs worldwide after a deal but has not specified how many Dutch jobs may be cut.

Rob Charlier, head of human resources for ABN in The Netherlands, said the bank has guaranteed bonuses for a small percentage of top talent to prevent bankers from being poached by competitors and that he was listening closely to staff and communicating regularly to address any concerns.