Deutsche Bahn to Cut 1,500 Jobs

Deutsche Bahn will eliminate 1,500 jobs by 2005 because of less money coming from the federal government, a spokesman told Der Tagesspiegel am Sonntag newspaper. The cuts, which will come from the company's project planning department, mean Deutsche Bahn will be undertaking fewer new construction projects than expected. "We are forced to align our workforce to our order situation," a spokesman told the paper. The first 600 positions are expected to be cut by the end of the year. The German Rail Industry Association estimated that Deutsche Bahn has already cut 2,000 jobs in the first half of 2004, and the group's head Michael Clausecker told reporters the industry "has not experienced such a dramatic situation in decades."