DB Cargo: Halle (Saale) loses wagon maintenance – union warns!

DB Cargo: Halle (Saale) loses wagon maintenance – union warns!

The fears and concerns of employees in the rail freight transport sector are increasing at the Halle (Saale) location. DB Cargo, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, has announced that it will carry out a profound restructuring nationwide. The aim is to increase efficiency, but the measures could ultimately cost the jobs of 170 employees. According to the plans, the workshop in Halle will in future only service locomotives, while the maintenance of freight wagons will no longer be necessary. Instead, this work will be relocated to other locations within Germany or abroad. The branch in Magdeburg is also particularly affected, as Dubisthalle reports.

The EVG union is already expressing massive concerns and criticizing the planned measures as a collective bargaining evasion and an expression of social cuts. There is excitement in Halle because negotiations with the works council are not due to begin until September 2025. It is expected that those affected and the union will raise their voices in the coming weeks to fight for the preservation of jobs. The Halle location will essentially remain intact, but the loss of entire work areas represents a significant threat.

A comprehensive austerity course

DB Cargo's plans are part of a larger savings program led by Cargo boss Sigrid Nikutta. The EU Commission has issued strict requirements stating that the company must be profitable by the end of 2026. If DB Cargo fails to do this, the company may face collapse. The last few years have been lost for the railway, despite a slight reduction in losses in the first half of 2025. An operating deficit remains. As Tagesschau further reports, the workshop in Mainz-Bischofsheim will also be closed and ten of fifteen branch offices, including four in the new federal states, will also have to close.

After the planned closure, only maintenance oases will remain of the current eleven maintenance depots: Hagen, Halle (Saale), Cologne-Gremberg, Mannheim, Oberhausen, Maschen, Nuremberg, Saarbrücken, Seddin, Seelze/Lohnde as well as five branch offices in Bebra, Braunschweig, Bremerhaven, Kornwestheim and Munich.

The pressure is increasing

DB Cargo's management is facing enormous pressure. The EU's demands for economic independence from 2026 run parallel to the company's creeping crisis. “It is high time we take effective measures to ensure profitability,” said Nikutta. The strategy behind the restructuring is to rigorously eliminate non-profitable areas, which is causing unrest among affected employees. The union has already announced that it will vehemently oppose the closure plans and will increase pressure on management to develop a sustainable vision for rail freight transport that secures local jobs.

In this situation, it remains to be seen how the discussions between management and the works councils will develop. The concerns of employees are palpable and the shadow of job losses at the affected locations, including Halle and Magdeburg, casts a bleak shadow over the future of rail freight transport in Germany. The EVG has already made it clear that it will monitor the negotiations critically. In summary, it can be seen that the coming months will point the way for DB Cargo and the employees who face an uncertain fate.