Rotterdam city council plans to cut spending by over €500m over the next few years, largely by reducing welfare benefits.

This means people who apply for welfare (bijstand) will have to accept a job – including temporary or part-time work – or face a cut in benefits. Some 35,000 people claim welfare in the port city.
The council will also reduce its workforce by 2,000 to around 13,000.
Rotterdam has been forced to cut its budget because it is getting less money from central government and from land sales.