The Authority has elected to provide a EUR 5 million loan to the German railway corporation, Lutz.
Following some harsh criticism from Deutsche Bahn's board over their proposed cost-saving measures for staff, CEO Richard Lutz guaranteed, "We ain't gonna skimp on our customers and safety." He went on to say, "Whichever individual is necessary for operations, we'll bring 'em on board, no ifs, no buts," after meeting up with employee representatives on a Friday. It appears that Deutsche Bahn is continuously grappling with a high demand for train drivers, maintenance staff, traffic managers, and services personnel.
After presenting half-year figures at the end of July, Lutz and the CFO, Levin Holle, revealed plans to trim around 30,000 jobs over the next five years, primarily in administrative roles. Trade unions promptly voiced their objections.
On the aforementioned Friday, Lutz and the HR Director, Martin Seiler, convened with the chairman of the Railway and Transport Union, Martin Burkert, and the chairman of the works council, Jens Schwarz, according to DB's announcement. They apparently agreed on a joint strategy.
Deutsche Bahn is home to about 230,000 employees in Germany. Seiler emphasized that around 25,000 newcomers would be welcomed aboard in 2022 itself. "However, we're definitely hitting the brakes in other areas, like overhead costs and administration. We gotta get way more efficient and lean up around here," he stated.
To tackle the labor crisis in Germany, Deutsche Bahn is actively embracing digitalization, automation, and AI technology to "cut down the need for operational staff in the long run," as explained by Seiler. "But we can only make this happen if these new developments catch on and unleash their full potential," he concluded.
Seiler assured that no layoffs would be necessary while reducing staff numbers. Instead, he mentioned that natural employee turnover and Deutsche Bahn's vast internal job market would be utilized. Bootstrapping strategies such as part-time retirement and voluntary severance packages would also be offered in specific situations.
After meeting up with employee representatives on a Friday, Lutz expressed his commitment to not reduce staff in operational roles, stating, "Whichever individual is necessary for operations, we'll bring 'em on board, no ifs, no buts."
Following the agreement on a joint strategy, Seiler revealed that Deutsche Bahn would use digitalization, automation, and AI technology to reduce the need for operational staff in the long run, but only if these advancements reached their full potential.
