Union to vote against DSV’s proposed take over of DB Schenker
30 / 09 / 2024
Railway and transport union EVG is reportedly planning to vote against the sale of forwarder DB Schenker to DSV later this week.
On Wednesday, the supervisory board of Schenker parent Deutsche Bahn is due to meet to vote on DSV’s proposed €14.3bn deal to acquire the forwarder.
However, publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that EVG will vote against the deal over fears it could result in job losses.
The union will not be able to stop the deal on its own and will need to convince other members of the supervisory board.
Air Cargo News’ sister title DVZ reports that around half the 20-member board comes from the employee side of the business but it is unclear at this stage which way the other unions will vote.
On the employer side, the DB supervisory board includes two state secretaries and three members of the Bundestag.
If the vote ends in a tie, the chairman of the supervisory board, Werner Gatzer, could use his voting rights to push through the decision against the employee representatives, DVZ said.
Other unions have also expressed concern that DSV’s take over of DB Schenker could result in job losses.
Leading trade union Ver.di had expressed concern that the takeover could lead to job losses in Germany. It preferred the bid from the private-equity consortium led by CVC.
Deutsche Bahn is selling its profitable forwarding arm in order to reduce debts, which totalled around €33bn in the first half of the year.
DB Schenker was the star performer for loss-making Deutsche Bahn in the first half of the year, despite operating profits and revenues coming under pressure.
The German forwarder registered a 6.6% year-on-year decline in first-half revenues to €9.4bn, while adjusted earnings before interest and tax declined 16.9% to €520m and airfreight volumes increased by 1% to 576,100 tonnes.
The overall Deutsche Bahn Group reported a first-half ebit loss of €677m, which it blamed on strikes, severe weather and the need to make infrastructure investments.
DSV signs deal to takeover DB Schenker and create world’s largest forwarder
