Employers
Dutch banking group ING said Thursday, Oct. 29, that it expects around 400 redundancies worldwide as it simplifies its Wholesale Banking business, which will be renamed Corporate and Institutional Banking. The bank said a number of roles will change effective March 1, 2027.
ING announced the reorganization alongside its third-quarter 2026 results. It expects to book a pre-tax redundancy provision of around 175 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2026 and projects a cost reduction of around 75 million euros a year, fully effective from 2028 onward. Those savings are a company forecast, not a realized result.
The bank did not say in which countries the 400 redundancies will fall, and its release does not mention works councils or employee consultation, saying only that it will work with the organization and relevant stakeholders. No executive was quoted in the announcement.
What is changing
Under the new structure, ING’s corporate clients will move from a sector-focused coverage model to a country-focused one, while clients that are financial institutions will remain on a globally organized model. Products will be grouped into three global teams: Transaction Banking, Global Markets, and a new Global Finance and Advisory organization. ING said it will provide more details, along with updated targets, at a Capital Markets Day scheduled for June 14, 2027.
In the quarterly results release, chief executive Steven van Rijswijk described the change as a “next strategic step” intended to “simplify and make it easier for our clients to do business with us.” Neither document attributes the job reductions to automation or artificial intelligence; the stated rationale is organizational simplification and closer client coverage.
Cuts at a profitable bank
The redundancies come during a strong quarter. ING reported a third-quarter net result of 1.85 billion euros, up 3.5% from a year earlier, and profit before tax of 2.705 billion euros, up 5.7%. Wholesale Banking lending grew by 2.5 billion euros in the quarter and the unit’s fee income rose 9.4% year on year. The bank said operating expenses rose 1.1% from the prior quarter as wage inflation pushed up staff costs, partly offset by cost initiatives. Separately, ING announced a shareholder distribution of up to 1.9 billion euros, including a share buyback of up to 1.65 billion euros.
The roughly 400 roles are a small share of ING’s workforce. The company says ING Bank has more than 60,000 employees, and its 2025 annual report on Form 20-F put the average number of internal full-time-equivalent employees at 62,770 last year.
The U.S. connection
ING’s American depositary receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and the bank files its results with the SEC; both Oct. 29 releases were furnished on Form 6-K.
ING also employs people in the United States, where its business is wholesale. According to the 20-F, its U.S. subsidiary, ING Financial Holdings Corporation, offers lending and financial markets products through operating subsidiaries, and ING Bank runs representative offices in New York, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles. The annual report’s country table lists the U.S. unit’s main activity as wholesale banking, with an average of 714 full-time-equivalent employees in 2025, up from 659 in 2024. The 20-F gives ING Financial Holdings’ address as 1133 Avenue of the Americas in New York.
Whether any of those U.S. roles are among the 400 has not been disclosed. For finance professionals in New York and the other U.S. offices, the practical takeaway is that the unit they work in is being reorganized globally, and specifics may not emerge until closer to the March 2027 effective date or the June 2027 investor day.
Sources
- ING, “ING to simplify the WB organisation, sharpen our focus and better serve clients,” October 29, 2026. https://www.ing.com/news/2026/ing-to-simplify-the-wb-organisation-sharpen-our-focus-and-better-serve-clients.html
- ING Groep N.V., “ING shows continued commercial momentum in 3Q2026 and is well on track to deliver on 2026 outlook” (Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1), October 29, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1039765/000117184326006947/exh_991.htm
- ING Groep N.V., “ING announces new distribution programme of up to €1.9 billion” (Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1), October 29, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1039765/000117184326006948/exh_991.htm
- ING Groep N.V., Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025, February 26, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1039765/000162828026011979/ing-20251231.htm
Featured photo: ING office buildings at Bijlmerdreef 106 in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, the Netherlands, May 7, 2020. Photo: adriana.monetory, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Cropped from the original.
.jpg){kind=link}