BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The Railway and Transport Union (EVG) is calling for Sigrid Nikutta to be removed as CEO of the railway subsidiary for freight transport. Nikutta’s course is leading DB Cargo into the abyss, the union warned on Monday.
“Nikutta’s balance sheet is devastating – a loss of over 3.1 billion euros since she took office speaks for itself,” writes EVG deputy chairwoman and deputy supervisory board chairman Cosima Ingenschay in a letter to Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla and supervisory board chairman Werner Gatzer. “What she calls transformation is actually a mindless unwinding,” it says, according to EVG.
While the workforce does everything they can every day to keep trains running, the company management sells silverware, sends essential staff home with severance pay and outsources services to third parties without necessity. The consequences are dramatic: declining quality, poor punctuality and growing uncertainty within the company.
“DB Cargo is the backbone of the German economy,” explained Ingenschay. Without the railway’s freight trains, no blast furnace, steelworks or car factory would run. But instead of strengthening the rail system, Nikutta loses itself in self-promotion and social media appearances, criticizes the trade unionist.
A company spokeswoman responded with the words: “We are not commenting on EVG’s demands. We are expecting a report on the situation at DB Cargo this Wednesday in order to get an objective picture.”/brd/DP/jha