DB Cargo cuts nearly half its German workforce
FREIGHT: DB Cargo has reached a formal agreement with worker representatives on a restructuring plan that will eliminate 6,200 of 14,000 jobs in Germany by 2030.
The agreement, confirmed by chief executive Bernhard Osburg in an interview with Reuters, locks in a restructuring programme worth EUR 1 billion in cost reductions. Osburg said the company expects to post a positive net result for 2026.
The cuts follow European Commission approval granted in November 2024 for EUR 1.9 billion in state aid. The Commission required DB Cargo to demonstrate long-term profitability by end-2026 or face potential break-up proceedings.
EUR 1.9 billion, one condition
The state aid came with a structural price. The profit-transfer agreement (Gewinnabführungsvertrag) under which DB AG had absorbed DB Cargo’s losses since 2012 was terminated with effect from 1 January 2025. DB Cargo now stands alone.
DB Cargo holds roughly 40 per cent of the German rail freight market — and loses money. Private competitors, sharing the remaining 60 per cent, deliver margins of 2–3 per cent on the same degraded infrastructure.
Market leader, structural loser
DB Cargo posted an EBIT of minus EUR 7 million in 2025 — a marked improvement on prior years, but still a loss. The restructuring plan, validated by an independent Sanierungsgutachten confirmed by DB AG in late February 2026, projects operational improvements from 2027 and a long-term margin target of 3 per cent.
North Rhine-Westphalia carries a disproportionate share of the cuts. Around 3,300 employees across approximately 12 sites are affected. The maintenance facility in Oberhausen is to be sold to another DB subsidiary. The control tower in Duisburg is under restructuring.
Single-wagon load services (Einzelwagenverkehr) receive EUR 300 million in state support in 2026, tapering toward approximately EUR 240 million. Osburg has called for the subsidy to be extended beyond 2030. No political decision has been taken.
The subsidy question
Osburg told Reuters the company would achieve its restructuring targets even in a risk scenario. The rail union EVG, responding the same day, called on transport minister Patrick Schnieder to provide additional support for the workforce.
The Interessenausgleich reached on 16 June moves the restructuring from plan to decision. Whether DB Cargo can sustain profitability beyond 2026 without a political commitment on single-wagon subsidies remains open.