By Markus Wacket
(Reuters) -Germany's Deutsche Bahn is drawing up a list of cost-cutting measures to mitigate billions of euros in losses and ballooning debt, two company sources told Reuters on Friday.
One of the sources referred to the measures as an "emergency brake" for the state-owned company, which has faced a series of strikes, wage increases and pressure to modernize its outdated infrastructure.
According to the sources, the measures stipulate that all new hires and expenditures, including business travel, be approved by management going forward.
"A hiring freeze and an almost group-wide spending freeze are being prepared," a company source told Reuters.
The measures would affect all of Deutsche Bahn's business areas except for its logistics subsidiary Schenker, which is currently up for sale, the sources said.
A Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said the management board had not decided yet but steps to reduce administrative costs and hiring were being prepared because business performance had been worse than expected this year.
A board decision regarding the changes could be taken as early as Tuesday, the sources said.
Net losses at Deutsche Bahn widened to nearly 2.4 billion euros ($2.60 billion) in 2023, while its net financial debt ballooned to 34 billion euros.
($1 = 0.9228 euros)
(Reporting by Markus Wacket; Writing by Friederike Heine and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Miranda Murray and Tomasz Janowski)
