Amsterdam will have to cut its spending by €620m between now and 2014 in order to keep within its budget, city council executive Lodewijk Asscher said on Thursday.

The recession, the cost of the new metro link and a possible cut in national government grants have led to the need to make sharp cuts, Asscher said.
Civil service numbers are likely to be reduced as a first step, with spending on sport, art and culture also coming under pressure. ‘Nothing will be sacred,’ Asscher was quoted as saying in the Telegraaf.
Amsterdam goes to the polls to elect a new city council in March.