Railway company DB Cargo lays off 2000 employees.
At Deutsche Bahn's freight transport division, there's a significant restructuring process underway. This could lead to the loss of several hundred jobs. The planned changes in structure have caused alarm among the works council and the union.
The ongoing reorganization in the struggling railway freight division of DB Cargo is now taking shape. This week, the group informed the supervisory board of their definite plans, as stated by CEO Sigrid Nikutta. Along with the elimination of roughly 2000 jobs, mostly due to retirement, combined transport - such as container transport from ports or terminals - is set to be outsourced to subsidiaries. Here, different labor conditions apply. Additionally, jointly operated transport segments like steel, cars, or chemical products will be divided into separate business fields.
To carry out the transformation, DB Cargo is restructuring its management. They will create a new department for combined transport and another one for the newly divided segments. The supervisory board is anticipated to approve the restructuring on June 20th.
The works councils and the Railway and Transport Union (EVG) have been attempting for months to stop the restructuring in its current form. They charge Nikutta with not taking their suggestions seriously and are deeply concerned about the potential loss of vital jobs. DB Cargo claims, however, that most of the job cuts will affect the administrative sector, and contracts won't be canceled.
