Foreign companies pay better salaries than Dutch companies

Personnel costs of foreign companies are nearly one third higher than those of Dutch companies. American subsidiaries pay the highest salaries, followed by Japanese companies.

Personnel costs foreign companies distinctly higher

Foreign companies clearly spend more on their staff than Dutch companies. In the period 2001-2005, the average personnel costs per employee were approximately 30 percent higher than the average of all companies active in the Netherlands. The average personnel costs of Dutch companies were in fact 5 percent below the overall Dutch average.

The gap is possibly caused by foreign companies paying higher salaries to prevent their employees from leaving. This is especially true of companies which offer their staff a variety of internal training courses. The staff of foreign companies is also often better qualified.

Average personnel costs per employee

Considerable variation among countries

Personnel costs also vary considerably across countries. US-based companies stand out. With 70 percent above average, they pay the highest salaries. Japan is runner-up paying salaries 51 percent above average. Personnel costs of companies owned by EU and other countries are 20 percent above the Dutch average.

The explanation for this phenomenon might be that American and Japanese companies tend to treat their foreign staff in the same way they treat their domestic staff. Moreover, US and Japan-based companies are usually active in sectors where salaries are relatively high. If the distribution over the various sectors is taken into account, US and Japanese still spend an extra 24 and 36 respectively on personnel costs relative to the Dutch average.

Personnel costs by country of origin of the holding company, 2001-2005*

Hub Beunen