The railway and transport union (EVG) has expressed strong criticism regarding the new head of the rail sector and her plans for restructuring the corporate group. While Evelyn Palla announced her intention to “turn the group upside down” union representatives stated that these plans currently lack any discernible overall vision. This critique was voiced in a letter written by the deputy EVG chairman, Kristian Loroch, and the overall works council chairman of the railway subsidiary, DB Services, Caner Cengiz, according to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”‘s Saturday edition.
Particular concern centers on the struggling subsidiary, DB Services. The restructuring goals for this unit have shifted dramatically: first contemplating a sale, then abandoning that idea, and finally suggesting the integration of specific business areas into the DB Regio and DB Fernverkehr subsidiaries. However, in their letter to Palla and Human Resources Director Martin Seiler, Loroch and Cengiz reported that the works council and the EVG were informed after months of planning that the whole process was flawed and poorly executed. They asserted that the planned division of DB Services was both unprofitable and operationally impossible.
Loroch and Cengiz emphasized the damaging uncertainty caused by these changes, writing that “after we had agreed on a general direction, there is now a regression into uncertainty. It is dishonest for the management board, in this way, to jeopardize the jobs of people due to such disorganization and lack of planning”. They stressed that the employees are “massively unsettled” by this constant back-and-forth. The core issue, they argued, was whether the board should first dedicate its attention to its primary task: developing a clear strategic vision and direction, and only then assessing its practicality and feasibility.
This brings the union’s focus to the board’s upcoming activities. Palla has scheduled an all-day board session for the coming Monday, during which the different goals developed by herself and her four colleagues are supposed to be merged into a cohesive overall concept. From Kristian Loroch’s perspective, this effort is far too late. Calling the situation a “failure of organs” he added that “unfortunately, this continues from the Lutz era. The board as a whole is now challenged to take responsibility”.