Board members at Deutsche Bahn will not receive bonuses for 2023, representative Martin Burkert has confirmed. The business will also reorganise the way that bonus payments are calculated.

German energy price cap means no bonuses for DB bosses

“In 2023, Deutsche Bahn received more than 50 million euros from the German federal government for the energy price cap. Because of this, there will be no bonuses,” chairperson of the Deutsche Bahn supervisory board and leader of the EVG union Martin Buckert has confirmed to the dpa.

Under the energy price cap law, which has now been scrapped, any business in Germany that received support from the state was not allowed to pay out bonuses. However, the bonuses planned for 2022 will still be paid.

In December 2023 it was announced that senior employees at the nationwide transport provider would receive seven-figure bonuses, despite chronic delays worsening each year. CEO Richard Lutz is expected to receive more than 1,26 million euros for 2022 and infrastructure chairman Berthold Huber will receive a 699.000-euro bonus. 

Representing Deutsche Bahn in ongoing negotiations with the German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL), who are demanding a 555 euro rise in pay each month for Deutsche Bahn staff, board member Martin Seiler will receive a 736.000-euro bonus. According to Buckert, the bonuses for 2023 would have been similar, were Deutsche Bahn not unable to pay them out because of the energy price cap law.

DB will change the way that bonuses are calculated

Once the company resumes paying out bonuses, the way they are calculated will also change, according to Buckert. In future, bonuses for hitting short-term targets will make up 20 percent of the total bonus, and the larger part, which is awarded for reaching long-term targets, will only be paid out every four years, rather than annually.

Targets for the whole company include punctuality and track quality, while board members are also responsible for meeting targets related to their area of work, such as staff representative Martin Seiler’s target to make sure that 86 percent of all Deutsche Bahn trainees graduate.

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