DB’s new CEO moves to replace freight chief ahead of EU profitability deadline
Just three weeks after taking office, Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla is expected to dismiss freight division chief Sigrid Nikutta at an extraordinary supervisory board meeting on October 30, marking her first major personnel decision as the company races to meet an EU profitability deadline.
The move, first reported by Der Spiegel and independently verified by multiple DB management sources, comes as DB Cargo faces mounting pressure to turn profitable by 2026. The EU Commission has prohibited DB from using state subsidies to cover freight losses beginning in 2026, forcing a fundamental restructuring of Europe’s largest state-owned rail freight operator.
Nikutta, who led DB Cargo since January 2020, has overseen EUR 3.1 billion in accumulated losses. The division lost EUR 357 million in 2024, while freight traffic declined 16% year-on-year to 30 billion tonne-kilometres. Germany’s railway union EVG publicly called for her removal in mid-October, describing her track record as “devastating.”
Audit questions turnaround strategy
An independent audit commissioned by DB concluded Nikutta’s turnaround plan was “objectively unsuitable” to achieve sustainable profitability, though it found profitability remains possible with a different approach. Her strategy focused on cutting staff from 17,000 to 10,000 and shifting to asset leasing, but critics say it lacked strategic direction.
Our Quick Analysis
Palla’s swift action demonstrates her willingness to make tough calls and respect the 2026 deadline. The real test comes next: finding a successor who can return DB Cargo to profitability while preserving its operational capacity for European freight networks. With no clear replacement candidate yet identified, the clock is ticking on both the leadership search and the financial turnaround.