Health insurance group Achmea is to cut its 3,600 workforce by one third, the NRC reported on Saturday. Healthcare chief Jeroen van Breda Vriesman told the the paper that a reorgansation was inevitable following the introduction of the new health insurance system.

The company has invested large amounts in adapting computer systems and re-training staff. Achmea has kept the price of its health insurance policies deliberately low to retain clients; the group is currently losing some €15 mln a month because the policy premiums do not cover costs, he said.