Railways will persistently minimize operations, if required.
The rail company, Deutsche Bahn, is under fire for proposing to axe thousands of jobs. This has sparked discontent among the EVG union. A sit-down with the board is planned to rectify the situation. The company maintains its commitment to upholding customer service and safety standards, and will continue to hire staff accordingly, at least temporarily.
Following harsh backlash towards Deutsche Bahn's cost-cutting measures, CEO Richard Lutz guaranteed no compromise on customer satisfaction and security. Should additional workforce be required for operations, they will be onboarded without reservation, assured personnel director Martin Seiler following discussions with union representatives.
Deutsche Bahn operates on a constant demand for train drivers, maintenance staff, traffic controllers, and service personnel, according to Seiler.
The head of the EVG union, Martin Burkert, expressed relief. "This is a significant gesture to our workforce," he said. "The EVG advocates for complete transparency in future decisions."
In the wake of half-year financial statements release in July, Lutz and finance director Levin Holle revealed plans to shed around 30,000 jobs over the next five years, primarily from administrative departments. "We aim to create a more efficient railway with fewer employees in the future," Holle declared at the time. The unions rebelled.
Lutz and Seiler recently held talks with EVG union head Burkert and works council chairman Jens Schwarz, as per DB. They reportedly agreed on a joint strategy, the company announced.
No layoffs
Deutsche Bahn employs over 230,000 people in Germany. Seiler emphasized the intention to recruit approximately 25,000 new individuals this year. "Yet, we are tightening the screws in other areas, such as overhead and administration. We must become far more efficient and optimized here," he explained.
In an effort to overcome labor shortages in Germany, the rail company is also pushing digitization, automation, and AI adoption "to reduce operational personnel demands in the medium to long term," Seiler revealed. "However, this can only be achieved if the new advancements come into effect and release corresponding resources."
Seiler assured that there would be no job losses during the process of downsizing staff demands. Instead, natural employee turnover and the large internal job market within the corporation will be utilized. In specific situations, options like part-time retirement and voluntary separation payoffs will also be available.
Given the backlash against Deutsche Bahn's job reduction plan, Martin Seiler, the personnel director, stated, "Should additional workforce be required for operations, they will be onboarded without reservation." This supports German Railways' ongoing requirement for employees in roles like train drivers, maintenance staff, traffic controllers, and service personnel, as mentioned by Seiler.
