Rostock railway plant in great danger: 24 jobs are to be lost!

Rostock railway plant in great danger: 24 jobs are to be lost!

A worrying development at DB Cargo, the freight transport subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, is affecting employees and the region around Rostock. The company has been in the red for years and is now planning massive savings. A total of an impressive 5,000 jobs are to be cut by 2029; the plant in Rostock-Krummendorf is severely affected. According to SVZ, 24 of the total 55 positions in the maintenance depot in the Rostock seaport are to be eliminated in the first step.

The alarming figures are raising concerns among the works council and employees about the future of the only DB Cargo plant in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Works council chairman Thomas Pfarr sent an urgent fire letter to Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig to draw attention to the critical situation. The letter, which was signed by the employees, was also forwarded to State Secretary Ines Jesse. The central demand: to prevent staff cuts and the threatened closure of the plant. According to Tagesschau, the job cuts are a reaction to long-term losses and new EU regulations.

Economic challenges

There are many reasons for the difficulties at DB Cargo. The EU Commission has ordered the group to turn the red numbers into black by the end of 2026. In fact, DB Cargo AG must initiate a transformation process in order to get back on its feet economically. The job cuts, which originally only affected 2,300 positions, are now taking on significantly larger proportions. Over a third of the planned positions will be cut in administration, while operational areas will also be affected. A voluntary exit program offers a further 700 employees the option to leave the company, reducing the need for cuts to around 2,650 jobs over the next five years.

The effects of a closure of the Rostock factory would be devastating for the region. This location plays a central role in Mecklenburgen-Western Pomerania's logistical infrastructure, and numerous freight trains, including transport for the Bundeswehr, start and end here. A greatly reduced capacity would not only endanger valuable know-how, but also question the economic stability of the entire region. The works council therefore urgently calls for the plant to be maintained and further strengthened.

Appeal to company management

The German Locomotive Drivers' Union (GDL) also criticizes the company's management. She calls for a hiring offensive instead of laying off employees. GDL federal chairman Mario Reiß notes that there is an acute shortage of personnel throughout the company. “Renovation must not come at the expense of the staff,” says Reiß. So the question remains: How will DB Cargo overcome the challenge without losing its committed employees? The pressure on company management is enormous because simple austerity measures could have catastrophic consequences.

Another bitter setback for the Rostock factory was Toshiba's rejection of a new production site in the seaport. This would not only have created new jobs, but also meant an expansion of the plant. Such developments make the future of the plant and the jobs associated with it appear even more uncertain.

The coming months will be crucial to see whether DB Cargo is able to implement the necessary measures to secure jobs while improving the economic situation. Unfortunately, the signs currently do not point to a rapid improvement.