The railway company plans to cut thousands of jobs in the coming years, particularly in administration. According to the railway union EVG, this is causing uncertainty among the workforce.
According to the Railway and Transport Union (EVG), Deutsche Bahn’s announcement of extensive job cuts has led to uncertainty among the company’s employees. The board’s communication is incorrect, the union chairman told the German Press Agency. “There must be no job cuts in the operational area, there must be an expansion.”
It is still completely unclear what the shortage of skilled workers will mean for the railways. “This will hit the rail industry hard.” What must not happen is that savings are made on customers or on safety.
Deutsche Bahn has run into financial difficulties and needs to make savings. At the end of July, Group CFO Levin Holle announced that thousands of jobs would be cut in the coming years, particularly in administration. Deutsche Bahn wants to reduce its staffing requirements by around 30,000 full-time positions over the next five years, he said. “In the future, we need to create more rail with fewer people,” said CEO Richard Lutz.
However, there are doubts within the EVG. “If you want more traffic on the rails, you first need more staff,” says Karsten Ulrich, head of the EVG locomotive driving service group, in which the train drivers organize themselves within the union. “We can only drive as many trains as there are staff available, and not the other way around.”
Source: Stern
