BERLIN (Reuters) – German labour union Verdi warned Deutsche Bahn in a positioning paper on Thursday against selling its logistics unit Schenker to Danish bidder DSV, fearing thousands of job losses. CONTEXT Germany’s state-owned railway is looking to sell Schenker to concentrate on upgrading its rail transport in Germany and to reduce its debt. The sales process is scheduled to close formally in 2025.
Danish transport firm DSV and a consortium led by CVC Capital Partners are the only remaining bidders. Sources say both have offered around 14 billion euros ($15.51 billion). CVC is also offering the alternative of buying 75.1% of the firm, with the rest remaining owned by Deutsche Bahn.
Deutsche Bahn is evaluating the final two offers and will need to discuss them with the government, with a decision expected in the coming weeks, the sources said. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT With both bidders offering the same amount of money, the decision of which bidder to sell to should come down to other factors, Verdi argues in its paper.
CVC will likely also close the Europe headquarters of Schenker and get rid of some jobs – but it won’t compare to the volume lost if DSV takes over and streamlines the workforce in administration and some locations. Verdi estimates a DSV takeover would cost Schenker 5,300 of its 15,000 jobs in Germany.
Verdi does not sit on Deutsche Bahn’s supervisory board, which will make the final call on a sale, but is the leading union at Schenker. KEY QUOTES
“The threat of job losses in the event of a takeover of DSV is immense.
“In the event of a takeover by DSV, the employees would be divided between three companies, according to DSV.”
($1 = 0.9025 euro)
(Reporting by Markus Wacket; Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)