Centric is going to cut 350 jobs. Especially in the Netherlands, employees will be laid off.
Centric itself speaks of a “simplification of the organizational structure” on its Dutch site. According to the company, the move is necessary to cut costs. Several divisions will also be merged to operate “more logically and simply.” The company says the dismissed employees will receive guidance through a social plan to find new jobs.
This would mainly concern support staff who will be parted from. 1,900 of Centric’s 3,200 employees are located in the Netherlands. In February, the IT company’s owners plan to carry out the round of layoffs. This group’s acquisition, led by investor Imker Capital Partners, took place in July. Also involved in this acquisition were Mollie founder Adriaan Mol, Uniserver CEO Ronald Bezuur, and ACT Group founder Bram Bastiaansen. The new leadership promises to get Centric back into “calm waters.”
Despite the turmoil surrounding founder and ex-CEO Gerard Sanderink, the investor group sees a lot of potential in Centric. A spokesperson said the company’s vision now focuses on ‘organizing operations more logically and simply by industry. ‘
Plenty of change
It is not the first significant change made by the new owner. For example, former executive chairman at Capgemini and ex-CEO of Sogeti Hans van Waayenburg became the new CEO in October. He says he is aware of the impact the layoffs and reorganization are having on employees. “Our commitment is to support our employees as best we can during this transition and to ensure continuity for our customers.”
A move like this is to be expected at a company in dire straits. Previously, many employees left of their own free will, after which major customers such as Arbo Unie, pension administrator PGGM and Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten also left.
Incidentally, Centric may not have so much to fear from former owner Sanderink, who could receive 80 million if he leaves the new owners alone. In April, however, he already had to pay back 91 million to his former company. Either way, the promised sum of money for Sanderink is a boost for Centric, making further turmoil unlikely. Winning back departed customers will be a longer-term process, which the new owners will make an effort to do.
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