Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
As announced on 10 October 2024, DB Cargo, the German freight train subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, plans to cut 2,300 jobs.
After negotiations with works councils and the union, a restructuring plan was agreed upon. The jobs are expected to be eliminated not through compulsory redundancies, but through a social plan and a voluntary exit program. In addition to the job cuts, new business areas will be created, more closely aligned with customer needs.
DB Cargo has been in crisis for several years, reportedly due to mismanagement, which has put the company in a difficult financial situation.
**Updated, 8/12/2024 **
DB Cargo will have to cut significantly more jobs than originally agreed with the works councils. In total, up to 5,000 positions are expected to be eliminated by 2029 due to the current economic forecasts. The cuts will primarily affect administrative roles, but the operational sector will also be impacted. DB Cargo CEO Sigrid Nikutta stated that the workforce reduction will primarily occur through natural attrition.
By 2024, around 1,000 employees have already left the company, largely due to retirements as the baby boomer generation exits the workforce. Additionally, 650 employees have accepted new positions within the broader rail group. A voluntary exit program will see another 700 employees leave the company. As a result, the remaining need for workforce reduction over the next five years is now estimated at around 2,650 positions.
Eurofound (2024), DB Cargo, Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 201738, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/201738.
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