The Dutch bank and insurer ING group announced on Wednesday that it would cut 2,350 jobs as part of a programme to save costs.

ING's Dutch insurer Nationale-Nederlanden will cut 1,350 jobs, while in the multinational component Commercial Banking, especially in Europe, 1,000 jobs will disappear.

The layoff at Nationale-Nederlanden will help save 200 million euros (258 million US dollars) in 2014 and the Commercial Banking will cut down the expenses of 260 million euros in 2015.

"It is painful to announce such steps today, because throughout these challenging times employees at all levels have worked tirelessly," said CEO Jan Hommen in a press release.

ING put the company's net result in the third quarter at 609 million euros, more than 1 billion euros less than the same period of last year, saying its net profit fell by more than a third from 1,099 million to 719 million euros.

The company also group disclosed that the underlying result before tax was over one fifth lower than last year at 1.065 billion euros, of which the Bank division contributed 1,021 million euros (+ 16.3 percent) and the insurance division 44 million (-90.6 percent).

ING had received financial aid from the Dutch state, and in order to get approval from the European Commission for the support measures, ING had to file a restructuring plan.

"Together with the Dutch State, we have made good progress in our constructive dialogue with the European Commission about revisions to the restructuring plan," Hommen said. 1 euro =1.29 US dollars