Belfius wants to set up a hub in Portugal, where 500 employees will carry out a number of back-office activities in a few years. “These are positions for which it is difficult to find staff in Belgium,” the bank says. There are no layoffs in Belgium, but Belfius is looking for new jobs internally for about forty people.
Journalist at HLN
Source: BELGA
Belfius wants to have a number of tasks of the IT and Operations department carried out from Lisbon. This includes activities related to artificial intelligence, payments and combating fraud. “By the end of next year we will have 218 positions in Portugal. In five years it will be 500 people,” says Belfius spokeswoman Ulrike Pommée.
She emphasizes that Belfius will continue to recruit in Belgium and that there will be no layoffs as a result of the project in Portugal. “Many Belfius employees will retire in the coming years. They will be replaced partly here and partly in Portugal.” The bank cannot say whether the workforce in Belgium will become smaller as a result. In total, including the independent agencies, approximately 10,000 people currently work for Belfius.
Consultancy firm
Belfius is working with consultancy firm Accenture to start up the hub. The hub in Lisbon will initially be a joint venture between Belfius and Accenture, but the consultant will leave in 3 to 5 years.
Belfius emphasizes that there is no outsourcing. “It is insourcing. We are currently already working with external parties, partly abroad. We want to partly internalize these external functions.” This means that 250 positions that are currently filled externally will be accommodated in the Portuguese hub.
