Eureko, the biggest insurer in the Netherlands, announced on Tuesday that it is to scrap 2,500 jobs by 2011 to make savings of €300m.

The company said it booked a net loss of just over €2bn last year compared with profit of € 979m in 2007, due mainly to losses on its investment portfolio and associated companies.
Eureko, which operates insurance firms Achmea, Zilveren Kruis, FTBO and Centraal Beheer, employs over 20,000 people in Holland and another 5,000 in the rest of Europe. It did not specify where or what jobs would be axed.
‘Eureko has had a very challenging year and 2009 will be anything but easy. We have a comprehensive package of policy-driven measures aimed at reinforcing our position. These will require full commitment from our employees, in the Netherlands and around Europe,’ the company said in a statement