Characteristics of employees (S1-6)
| Employees as of Dec 31 / FTE | 2025 | 2024 | Change | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| absolute | % | ||||
| DB Long-Distance | 20,392 | 21,236 | –844 | –4.0 | 20,966 |
| DB Regional | 43,091 | 42,405 | +686 | +1.6 | 39,587 |
| DB Cargo | 25,224 | 29,483 | –4,259 | –14.4 | 31,359 |
| DB InfraGO 1) | 72,941 | 71,216 | +1,725 | +2.4 | 66,834 |
| DB Energy | 2,200 | 2,149 | +51 | +2.4 | 2,055 |
| Subsidiaries/Other 1) | 55,304 | 59,071 | –3,767 | –6.4 | 58,912 |
| DB Group | 219,152 | 225,560 | –6,408 | –2.8 | 219,713 |
| DB Group – comparable | 218,763 | 225,165 | –6,402 | –2.8 | 219,713 |
| Changes in the scope of consolidation | –389 | –395 | +6 | –1.5 | – |
| DB Group (incl. discontinued operations) 2) | 219,152 | 296,662 | –77,510 | –26.1 | 326,781 |
| thereof discontinued operations 2) | – | 71,102 | –71,102 | –100 | 107,068 |
To guarantee better comparability, the number of employees is converted into full-time equivalents (FTE). Figures for part-time employees are measured in accordance with their share of the regular annual working time.
Since 2025 excluding interns and working students. Figures as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 have not been adjusted.
1) Figures as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 adjusted due to the merger of DB Kommunikationstechnik GmbH.
2) Contains the figures for DB Schenker as of December 31, 2024 and the figures for DB Schenker and DB Arriva as of December 31, 2023.
| Employees as of Dec 31 / NP | 2025 | 2024 | Change | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| absolute | % | ||||
| DB Long-Distance | 21,570 | 22,395 | –825 | –3.7 | 22,132 |
| DB Regional | 45,439 | 44,856 | +583 | +1.3 | 41,962 |
| DB Cargo | 25,638 | 29,992 | –4,354 | –14.5 | 31,918 |
| DB InfraGO 1) | 75,072 | 73,724 | +1,348 | +1.8 | 69,291 |
| DB Energy | 2,259 | 2,231 | +28 | +1.3 | 2,147 |
| Subsidiaries/Other 1) | 57,465 | 61,727 | –4,262 | –6.9 | 61,689 |
| DB Group | 227,443 | 234,925 | –7,482 | –3.2 | 229,139 |
| DB Group (incl. discontinued operations) 2) | 227,443 | 308,119 | –80,676 | –26.2 | 340,100 |
| thereof discontinued operations 2) | – | 73,194 | –73,194 | –100 | 110,961 |
Since 2025 excluding interns and working students. Figures as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 have not been adjusted.
1) Figures as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 adjusted due to the merger of DB Kommunikationstechnik GmbH.
2) Contains the figures for DB Schenker as of December 31, 2024 and the figures for DB Schenker and DB Arriva as of December 31, 2023.
The employee data comes from our annual data validation and quality assurance process for external reporting.
The number of employees in DB Group declined slightly as of December 31, 2025.
- Measures to reduce demand and the headcount as part of the restructuring program had a cross-business unit impact, in particular in the areas of administration and sales.
- The increase at DB InfraGO took place in the areas of project management, maintenance and operations in particular and was due to increased construction activity. The intra-Group transfer of the planning and acceptance testing division of DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH (Subsidiaries/Other) and the partial integration of DB Real Estate (Subsidiaries/Other) into DB InfraGO AG also increased the number of employees at DB InfraGO.
- The increase in the number of employees at DB Regional resulted primarily from the integration of DB Regio Stuttgart GmbH, which was taken over in 2025, and from taking over our own vocational trainees and train drivers from DB Cargo. At DB Regional Bus, the number of employees increased due to the rail substitute concept as part of the modernization of the Hamburg — Berlin corridor.
- In contrast, the number of employees at DB Cargo has decreased. This was mainly due to the measures taken as part of the transformation program.
- The lower number of employees at DB Long-Distance resulted from restructuring measures and the reduction in demand in connection with the schedule adjustment during the year.
- In the Subsidiaries/Other area, the number of employees fell as a result of the measures implemented in connection with the restructuring program. This was particularly the case at DB Services, DB Temporary Work and DB Sales. In addition, intra-Group service adjustments at DB Vehicle Maintenance, organizational transfers to DB InfraGO and the liquidation of Onxpress in Canada contributed to the reduction.
| Employees by country (top ten) as of Dec 31 / NP | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 217,059 | 223,309 | 217,341 |
| Poland | 2,642 | 2,800 | 2,860 |
| United Kingdom | 2,261 | 2,339 | 2,362 |
| India | 1,122 | 613 | 387 |
| France | 898 | 940 | 954 |
| Romania | 769 | 838 | 983 |
| The Netherlands | 520 | 677 | 726 |
| Italy | 514 | 545 | 601 |
| Spain | 277 | 1,077 | 1,127 |
| Denmark | 247 | 262 | 275 |
| Rest of world | 1,134 | 1,525 | 1,523 |
| DB Group | 227,443 | 234,925 | 229,139 |
Since 2025 excluding interns and working students.
Figures as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 have not been adjusted.
The share of employees in Germany remains unchanged at about 95 % (as of December 31, 2024: about 95 %).
The share of employees with permanent employment contracts was at a very high level of about 98 % as of December 31, 2025 (about 97 % as of December 31, 2024). Temporary workers include employees who are hired for a temporary project, for example. DB Group does not employ non-guaranteed-hours employees.
DB Group offers various part-time models to improve the work-life balance.
| Employees by contract type and gender as of Dec 31 / NP | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Other | Not specified | Male | Female | Other | Not specified | Male | Female | Other | Not specified | |
| DB Group | 175,204 | 52,193 | 12 | 34 | 180,228 | 54,697 | / 1) | / 1) | 175,964 | 53,175 | / 1) | / 1) |
| Permanent | 171,066 | 51,047 | 11 | 34 | 174,271 | 52,492 | / 1) | / 1) | 169,000 | 50,335 | / 1) | / 1) |
| Fixed-term | 4,138 | 1,146 | 1 | – | 5,957 | 2,205 | / 1) | / 1) | 6,964 | 2,840 | / 1) | / 1) |
| DB Group | 175,204 | 52,193 | 12 | 34 | 180,228 | 54,697 | / 1) | / 1) | 175,964 | 53,175 | / 1) | / 1) |
| Full-time | 164,174 | 39,521 | 8 | 26 | 167,715 | 41,192 | / 1) | / 1) | 163,615 | 39,743 | / 1) | / 1) |
| Part-time | 11,030 | 12,672 | 4 | 8 | 12,513 | 13,505 | / 1) | / 1) | 12,349 | 13,432 | / 1) | / 1) |
Gender as specified by the employee. Only a detailed breakdown by male and female was possible in previous years due to the system used.
Since 2025 excluding interns and working students. Figures as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 have not been adjusted.
1) No data available.
| Gender as of Dec 31 / NP | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 175,204 | 180,228 | 175,964 |
| Female | 52,193 | 54,697 | 53,175 |
| Other | 12 | / 1) | / 1) |
| Not specified | 34 | / 1) | / 1) |
| DB Group | 227,443 | 234,925 | 229,139 |
Since 2025 excluding interns and working students. Figures as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 have not been adjusted. Only a detailed breakdown by male andfemale was possible in previous years due to the system used.
1) No data available.
About 227,400 employees from more than 100 nations work in DB Group, including about 52,200 women – this corresponds to a share of women of about 23 %.
The notes to the consolidated financial statements contain information on the employee structure under Personnel expenses and in the Segment report.
| Employee turnover as of Dec 31 / NP | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retirement-related turnover | 3,419 | 3,204 | 3,318 |
| Other employee turnover | 16,412 | 13,497 | 12,006 |
| Termination by employees | 9,469 | / 1) | / 1) |
| Termination by Group companies | 6,408 | / 1) | / 1) |
| Due to incapacity for work/death | 535 | / 1) | / 1) |
| DB Group | 19,831 | 16,701 | 15,324 |
For previous years, the scope of Germany (Group companies account for about 98 % of domestic employees) is shown. Due to system limitations, it was not possible to collect further details in previous years.
1) No data available.
| Share of employee turnover as of Dec 31 / % | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retirement-related turnover | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5 |
| Other employee turnover | 6.4 | 5.9 | 5.5 |
| Termination by employees | 3.7 | / 1) | / 1) |
| Termination by Group companies | 2.5 | / 1) | / 1) |
| Due to incapacity for work/death | 0.2 | / 1) | / 1) |
| DB Group | 7.8 | 7.3 | 7.0 |
For previous years, the scope of Germany (Group companies account for about 98 % of domestic employees) is shown. Due to system limitations, it was not possible to collect further details in previous years.
1) No data available.
Turnover includes all terminations by employers and employees, retirements and deaths. The turnover rate is calculated on the basis of the Schlüter formula, which divides the total number of employees leaving the company during a given period by the total number of employees at the beginning of the period and the number of new employees hired during the period.
The significant increase in turnover in 2025 was mainly due to the restructuring measures in DB Group and the transformation program at DB Cargo.