Cut sites or staff? As soon as he takes his post, on Monday, June 07, 2010, Christian Kern, new leader of the Austrian railway, will have to face several complicated tasks. The crisis and the drop in passenger and merchandise transport really damaged the ÖBB’s finances. 2009 results have yet to be published but we know they’ll be negative. This combined with the Federal Audit Office finding a loss of around €295 million after speculative financial operations. Finally, the federal state is looking to save everywhere. Socialist Minister for Transportation and Infrastructures Doris Bures mentioned delaying major projects for the development of infrastructures (Brenner tunnel) while the conservatives are talking about cutting staff. It is in this context that Reinhold Lopatka, backbone of the conservative party on the issue of the railway’s future, has been criticizing, throughout the month of May, railroaders’ size and remuneration. He thinks that the ÖBB could save €400 million a year, including 150 million by cutting staff (45,186 employees) by 3,000 people by 2015. He also mentioned cutting 50% of staff representatives (currently 100 people) or reducing the number of managers of the different companies run by the ÖBB’s parent company.
jects for the development of infrastructures (Brenner tunnel) while the conservatives are talking about cutting staff. It is in this context that Reinhold Lopatka, backbone of the conservative party on the issue of the railway’s future, has been criticizing, throughout the month of May, railroaders’ size and remuneration.
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