Railway administration imputes fault on its own high-ranking officials
The critique is severe and fails to enhance the atmosphere: "We're experiencing a performance quandary concurrently with a leadership quandary," the Deutsche Bahn board laments. They condemn those who merely spot issues and cautions those who fail to propose remedies.
As per "Der Spiegel," the company's board published a letter titled "New Leadership Approaches" on its intranet at the start of the week. It suggests that Deutsche Bahn is facing its "most critical predicament since the Bahn reform." "We're in a performance crisis and concurrently in a leadership crisis," the board, led by chairman Richard Lutz, declares. To surmount these crises, one must "act drastically differently," the letter suggests: "That means: more drastic, more focused, and more disciplined."
The board is said to expect nine conduct directives from its management in the future. "Only results matter, not intentions." For negative outcomes, corresponding actions must be enacted, which must be "specific and precise." The company will no longer be rescued by merely airing grievances; they must be resolved. Meetings should only take place if a clear solution proposal or a method for devising a solution proposal is presented.
The board also warns of penalties for non-compliance. Those who merely point out problems without a willingness to assist in the solution will be "suspensively excluded from meetings by the organizer," the article states. All meetings should solely serve to implement the "S3" restructuring concept that the board presented to the supervisory board last month and submitted to Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing of the FDP.
Bafflement among employees
The article was reportedly met with widespread bewilderment within the company. Many feel reprimanded like trainees, while others view it as a reflection of the company's poor condition, "Der Spiegel" reports further. Bahn CEO Lutz is under pressure from the state owner, represented by Federal Transport Minister Wissing, who recently presented a seven-point plan for restructuring Deutsche Bahn.
Replying to a request from "Der Spiegel," Deutsche Bahn explained that the goal of the restructuring program, which runs until the end of 2027, is to "restore the operational capacity of the rail, significantly enhance the passenger experience, and ensure financial stability. Because the DB is significantly away from what we aimed to achieve with the Strong Rail Strategy in 2019 for 2024."
The board of Deutsche Bahn itself received severe criticism just last December. The reason: its members received bonuses in the millions, despite the lowest punctuality rate in years.
The severe criticism faced by the Deutsche Bahn board last December was partly due to their approval of millions in bonuses, despite the rail company's lowest punctuality rate in years. Furthermore, the current economic situation of Deutsche Bahn is concerning, as they are grappling with both a performance crisis and a leadership crisis, which the board categorizes as their most critical predicament since the Bahn reform.
