Swiss Railways to cut 900 jobs by 2020 to reduce costs

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) on Thursday announced plans to cut 900 jobs in a bid to save 550 million Swiss francs per year until 2020.

Further cost reductions post-2020 are expected so that critical changes to the existing railway system can be implemented. Reductions will be in the order of 1.75 billion francs (1.76 billion U.S. dollars) per year by 2030.

While global costs in the railway sector are expected to significantly rise over the next fifteen years, SBB indicated that road transport costs are projected to become more competitive.

Expansions on existing offers, investment in new infrastructure together with the rise of maintenance costs have also called for decisive measures to be taken, SBB explained in a statement.

In light of current trends, SBB's RailFit20/30 program has been conceived to address such realities by reviewing existing expenditure and the services on offer.

Definitive measures will only be implemented by summer 2016 once consultations with the McKinsey firm are concluded.

SBB stressed that cost reductions will be accompanied by investment to make offers more attractive. Innovation is also seen as crucial while the occupancy rate of trains is to be improved.

To enhance its competitiveness over the long-term, SBB indicated that 3.8 billion francs are invested each year to increase the attractiveness of services on offer, such as making trains more comfortable for passengers. An additional 30 million francs are invested in innovative projects.

As of the end of 2014, 32,730 employees were working for SBB. Endit