The call for the resignation of DB Cargo’s CEO, Sigrid Nikutta, by the German railway and transport union Eisenbahn- und Verkehrsgewerkschaft (Evg) underscores the deepening crisis in the country’s rail freight sector, particularly within state-owned operators. In a statement on its website, Evg described Nikutta’s management as a “kopfloses Abwickeln”—a “headless liquidation”—accusing her of prioritising external communication while the company sinks deeper into unprecedented losses. The letter, addressed to Deutsche Bahn chair Evelyn Palla and supervisory board chairman Werner Gatzer, constitutes a formal vote of no confidence that goes beyond traditional German union protocol.
According to reports in Tagesschau and Handelsblatt, Evg—which represents around 185,000 rail workers—believes that Nikutta’s leadership has compromised DB Cargo’s strategic role within Deutsche Bahn. The severity of the stance is particularly notable since Martin Burkert, Evg’s president, also sits on Deutsche Bahn’s supervisory board, creating an unusual overlap between labour representation and corporate governance.
Financially, the union’s position is reinforced by stark figures. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that DB Cargo’s cumulative operating losses since 2020 have reached €3.1 billion, a record low in the company’s history. In the first half of 2025, revenues fell 9% to €2.5 billion, while freight volumes dropped 10%. Operating losses of €96 million, although lower than in previous years, do not suggest a stable recovery. DB Cargo’s market share in Germany has fallen to 40%, with the remaining 60% now controlled by private operators, according to Manager Magazin.
The European context has further complicated matters. In November 2024, the European Commission approved €1.9 billion in state aid, on the condition that DB Cargo’s profit-and-loss transfer agreement with parent company Deutsche Bahn be terminated from 1 January 2025. The company must now return to profitability by the end of 2026 or face potential dismantling. The Commission has authorised coverage of losses between 2022 and 2024 but tied this support to the implementation of a strict restructuring plan.
Union tensions are centred on the future of single-wagon traffic, which accounts for around 40% of total volumes but generates most of the losses. According to consultants Oliver Wyman and SCI Verkehr, cuts to this service could reach 60–80%. Evg views this as a threat to the core of Germany’s industrial logistics network, warning that its elimination would shift around 40,000 lorry journeys per day onto the roads. The union proposes transferring the activity to DB InfraGO as a public-interest service, exempt from profit requirements.
Meanwhile, DB Cargo has announced a restructuring plan involving the closure of ten of its fifteen satellite stations, the sale of 6,000 freight wagons to Gatx Rail Europe, and a reduction of staff from 19,000 in 2023 to around 10,100 by 2030—a 47% cut. The overhaul is accompanied by a programme of digitalisation and centralised maintenance, but the pace of losses and rising industrial tensions threaten its feasibility.
At the institutional level, supervisory board chairman Werner Gatzer now faces growing pressure. A veteran of the Finance Ministry, Gatzer must navigate between the federal government, the European Commission and trade unions. Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder reaffirmed that restructuring measures “must continue and, if necessary, be intensified”, Handelsblatt reports—hinting that further cuts to staff or services may be unavoidable.
The DB Cargo crisis exposes the structural weaknesses of the German rail freight model. German sources broadly agree that a combination of undercapitalisation, technological delays—such as the slow rollout of the digital automatic coupling system—and mounting competition from private operators has eroded Deutsche Bahn’s ability to balance public service obligations with economic sustainability.
Evg itself finds its position increasingly complex: while denouncing Nikutta’s management and mounting losses, it also opposes the cuts and restructuring that Brussels considers essential for a return to profitability. Ultimately, the dispute reflects a broader systemic crisis affecting not just DB Cargo’s leadership, but the strategic framework of German rail freight as a whole.
