Dutch headlines have been dominated by a wave of banking sector redundancies. ABN AMRO plans to cut around 5,200 full-time roles by 2028 with AI cited as a driver of efficiency gains, ING notified the Dutch labour authority of up to 950 potential job losses, and Triodos announced 250 to 270 departures over the coming years. In each case, AI and digitalisation appear in the same breath as cost reduction.
Writing for Dutch IT Channel, Valliance Senior Value Partner Rad Parvin argues that framing is precisely the problem. Companies deploying AI to shrink headcount are choosing managed decline over competitive growth. The real opportunity is to do far more with the same people. Relationship managers freed from administrative burden can spend more time on advice. Risk teams with better models can make faster, sharper credit decisions.
Rad's argument is structural. Cutting the people who hold domain knowledge, understand data quality, and catch the edge cases AI misses stores up failure for later. Shadow processes emerge and compliance gaps widen.
Dutch businesses that use AI to grow will outpace those that use it to shrink, at home and internationally. The companies treating AI as a cost-cutting exercise, Rad concludes, are not just cutting staff. They are cutting themselves out of the market.
