Banking group ABN Amro on Friday announced a rise in net profit in the first six months of 2011 to €864m, compared with a net loss of €968m in the year-earlier period. It also said it is scrapping 2,350 jobs in the next four years.

The underlying profit, which excludes share divestment and integration costs, was €974m.
The results were affected by the uncertainty surrounding the debt crisis and the bank remains cautious for the remainder of the year, CEO Gerrit Zalm said in a statement. ‘First-half results should not be extrapolated to the rest of the year,’ he said.
The bank also announced it is scapping 2,350 jobs in the next four years. ‘This is as a result of new activities aimed at improving operational excellence’, Zalm said. It expects to lose 1,500 jobs through redundancies and the remaining 850 through natural attrition.
The FNV Bondgenoten union, which represents bank workers, reacted with shock to the announcement. ‘If you want to speed up improvements, that’s when you need people with knowledge and experience,’ Bondgenoten’s Carla Kiburg told the Telegraaf.