The new management agreements on the table state that Infrabel wants to downsize to 9,216 employees by 2032, 900 fewer than today. At the NMBS, 1,771 jobs in management and support services will be cut by 2032. The 666 recruitments of train drivers and attendants to meet higher volumes bring the net job loss at the NMBS to 1,105 jobs.
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The rationale for the redundancies at both companies is similar. Investments in infrastructure require less maintenance. According to the Infrabel top, a new switch requires less maintenance than an old one. New train sets also require less expensive maintenance at the NMBS. These are natural attrition: staff who leave or retire will not be replaced.
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The unions are not happy about the plans. According to the socialist railway association, there is a shortage of 2,100 people to keep the trains running on time. “Middle and senior managers represented only 5.2 percent of the workforce in 2007, compared to 15.6 percent in 2022,” said chairman Pierre Lejeune.
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