Failure to turn around loss-making DB Cargo quickly enough is the main reason behind the impending dismissal of Sigrid Nikutta.
Sigrid Nekota, CEO of DB Cargo.
According to what was reported by the German news magazine Der SpiegelNew German Rail (DB) CEO Evelyn Balla, who took up her new position on October 1, plans to fire DB Cargo CEO Sigrid Nekota, who also serves as a member of DB’s freight management board. Nekota is expected to step down from his position on October 30.
DB Cargo is the largest rail freight operator in Europe, operating freight services in several European countries. However, he performed poorly. Although DB Cargo reported a 28.2% reduction in its annual loss, from a negative profit of €497 million in 2023 to a negative profit of €357 million in 2024, there is still a long way to go to break even, let alone turn a profit.
DB Cargo announced a 16% decline in total freight traffic from 35.7 billion tonne-kilometres in the first half of 2024 to 30 billion tonne-kilometres this year, while traffic in the first half in Germany fell by 22.8% from 24.4 billion tonne-kilometres in 2024 to 18.9 billion tonne-kilometres in 2025.
according to der spiegel, A recent evaluation by DB asked whether DB Cargo’s turnaround plan would solve its core problems or regain competitiveness. While the assessment believes it is possible to return DB Cargo to profitability, it says the current plan does not go far enough and will take too long to achieve its goals.
Time is of the essence. The European Commission has banned DB from using government funding to cover DB Cargo’s losses after the end of this year, meaning DB Cargo needs to return to profitability next year. Failure to do so could result in radical surgery, such as a reduction in wagon load services causing a loss and sale of parts of DB Cargo.
The EVG railway union recently called for Nekota’s dismissal. Union said Der Spiegel that its record at DB Cargo was “devastating” and criticized what it called a “headless strategy of downsizing and cannibalization”.
Nikota joined DB in 2020 from Berlin Transport (BVG) where she held the position of CEO.
