One in 10 of the Netherlands’ larger firms relocated work overseas between 2009 and 2011, largely to other EU countries, according to new figures from national statistics office CBS.

Lower wage costs played a major part in the decision to offshore services, often IT and administration tasks, the CBS said on Tuesday. Company strategy was another main reason to relocate work abroad, followed by other cost cutting reasons.

In total, offshoring has led to the loss of 18,000 Dutch jobs over the three year period.

Manufacturing companies accounted for the bulk of the lost jobs. Much of the work was shifted to other European countries with 42% opting for an ‘old EU’ country and 25% for a new member state. India was the most popular non-EU destination, the CBS said.