"Win-win situation"

The railroads recruit from bankrupt companies such as KTM

There was lively interest in the crisis-proof jobs at the career day.(Bild: Tröster Andreas, Krone KREATIV)

The Austrian Federal Railways are urgently looking for staff. That is why they are now fishing at companies in crisis. 160 interested people attended the career day on Friday. They are looking in all areas.

Long faces in the ÖBB depot, a palpably bad mood in the air. Many people who have recently lost their jobs at bankrupt companies such as KTM or Kika/Leiner are hoping to find a new job at the railroad company. Nobody really wanted to talk about it openly. They have had to endure too much in recent weeks and months due to the often unclear situations in the companies.

This is where ÖBB comes in, wanting to give the workers new prospects and therefore trying to cooperate directly with the affected companies and recruit valuable workers from them. This is partly done directly in the companies, for example through information events. "We are allocating around 300 jobs in Salzburg alone this year," reports Andrea Mayrl-Paar from the ÖBB HR department.

Looking for staff: Susanna Lehninger and Andrea Mayrl-Paar.(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

"Thanks to direct contact with companies, we were able to fill around 100 new positions in Austria last year," reports Susanna Lehninger, who always tries to make direct contact with companies that have run into difficulties. Because at the end of the day, it's a win-win situation. Dismissed employees have the prospect of a new job, and ÖBB gets good staff.

On Friday, those affected were able to find out about the 130 job opportunities at the railroad company in Salzburg. Around 160 accepted the invitation. For this year, ÖBB is still looking for 55 train drivers, numerous train attendants and technicians for Salzburg alone.