Bam to shake up Dutch and Belgian businesses

Among the steps being taken is the merger of a string of subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Belgium. In the Netherlands, twelve companies will be bundled into two companies, one for construction and property and one for civil engineering. In Belgium, six companies will be folded into a single entity operating across both these markets.

Each of the new companies will have its own management team, including directors for finance and human resources.

The organisational changes are expected to the loss of 650 full-time jobs by the end of 2015. The company said these would come as the result of de-duplication and economies of scale in the simplified structure. Most of the 650 job losses will be in the Netherlands, where Bam employs some 9,300 people.

These measures are expected to deliver annual cost savings of some € 100 million by the end of 2015, although there will be an one-off restructuring charge of €80 - €100 million to achieve this across the second half of 2014 and the 2015 full-year.

CEO Rob van Wingerden said, "Our recent performance shows that we need to change in order to deliver on our Group strategy and capitalise on our potential. So we are reshaping our operational model by strengthening our culture, simplifying our structure and sharpening our processes. That will translate into better project control, a lower cost base and stronger balance sheet. And that in turn will improve our competitive position and create more value for our shareholders."