The plant in Aldersbach, Bavaria. Source: Knorr-Bremse
Savenkova Ekaterina, Editorial Contributor to International Projects of ROLLINGSTOCK Agency
Germany: According to local media reports citing company documents, Knorr-Bremse is considering cutting at least 700 jobs across the country.
At the factory producing brake components in Munich, around 200 employees are expected to be laid off. Additionally, more than 50 workers at the Hasse & Wrede damper manufacturing facility in Berlin could be affected due to the relocation of part of the production to the Czech Republic. The Evac division, which manufactures toilet systems and is part of the company, plans to transfer 70 employees from the Hamburg suburb to a site in Poland. Furthermore, production of resistors at the Heine Resistors plant in Dresden and other components is expected to be moved to Eastern Europe.
Knorr-Bremse cites challenging market and competitive conditions as reasons for the job cuts. Although Germany accounts for 16% of the company’s workforce (over 5,000 of 33,000 employees), it generates only 13% of the revenue while incurring 29% of personnel costs.
Financially, Knorr-Bremse remains stable. The rolling stock systems and components segment generated revenues of €3.7 bln in 2023 and €4.0 bln in 2024, with EBITDA margins of 18.2% and 19.5% respectively. At the end of 2024, the rolling stock manufacturing division employed nearly 17,900 people.
It should be noted that due to ongoing economic difficulties in Germany, other companies are also relocating production abroad. Siemens Mobility, for instance, is reducing domestic investments and actively increasing its presence in the US and other countries. Similarly, Alstom plans to move rolling stock production from Germany to Poland after 2026. Meanwhile, smaller players in Germany’s rolling stock market and components sector are facing insolvencies.
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