Red alert in Rostock: 24 positions in the railway works are threatened!

Red alert in Rostock: 24 positions in the railway works are threatened!

There is a lot of rumblings in Rostock: Deutsche Bahn is planning drastic job cuts at its plant in Krummendorf. No fewer than 24 of 55 positions are affected, which accounts for half of the workforce. As Bild.de reports, the works council is sounding the alarm and is urgently seeking support from Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig. The job cuts are part of a comprehensive restructuring program at DB Cargo, which has been in the red for years.

The works council chairman Thomas Pfarr warns urgently about the consequences of closing the Rostock location. A “creeping death” is feared, which not only affects the 28 trucks and locomotives, but could also have serious consequences for the port, rail and ferry traffic as well as for the Bundeswehr and NATO. Many freight trains, including transport for the Bundeswehr, start and end in Rostock. It is a central hub that is of great importance for Germany's logistical performance.

The background to the dismantling

The reasons for this clear-cutting are diverse. As Nordkurier reports, DB Cargo is under immense pressure to work profitably. An EU decision from 2024 forces the company to be in the black by 2026. This comes against the backdrop of a worrying loss of productivity: DB Cargo has seen train performance fall by more than 50 percent, while its workforce has only been reduced by 40 percent. This results in a productivity loss of over 34 percent.

The works council sees the danger that maintenance work could be relocated to Maschen near Hamburg or Seddin near Berlin in the future. This would not only cost jobs, but would also remove valuable know-how from the location. Another bitter setback was the rejection by Toshiba, which was planning to locate at the Rostock factory in 2024 and was seen as a future prospect for the location.

An appeal to politics

In order to save the situation, the works councils sent an incendiary letter to the Prime Minister asking for support. “We have to stop the workforce cuts and strengthen the location,” is the clear demand. Closing the plant in Rostock would not only be an economic disaster, but also a security risk for NATO and the Bundeswehr. It is all the more important that politicians act now, before it is too late.

Given this tense situation, it is clear: the Rostock-Krummendorf plant is more than just a maintenance location. It is an essential part of the logistical infrastructure in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and a key to maintaining transport and supply routes in Germany. If countermeasures are not taken soon, the region is at risk of losing an important employer and endangering logistics across Germany.