Only change in profiles, no job cuts, clarifies Indian Railways

Indian Railways said that certain job profiles of employees are likely to change in the coming days but assured that there won't be any job losses. This development comes a day after the Railways issued a letter asking its GMs (general managers) to axe 50 per cent vacancies and hold creation of new posts. The letter sent to the GMs and approved by the Financial Commissioner stated that the freezing of new posts, review of posts created since 2018 and slashing existing 50 per cent vacancies was a part of an action plan aimed at "rationalising of expenditure."

This letter led to conjectures that the Railways was geared up to trim down its workforce. The Director General (HR) Railway Board, Anand S Khati laid all such speculations to rest during an online briefing and said that the national carrier will be "rightsizing and not downsizing."

News agency PTI reported that due to technological interventions in the sector, some job profiles are expected to change wherein the personnel will be re-skilled but there won't be any job losses. Khati also reportedly said that the order sent on July 2, Thursday was to surrender non-functional, non-safety posts so that additional safety posts could be created for new ongoing railway infrastructure projects.

He also stated that all the recruitment drives that are currently underway will continue as usual and the posts that have already been notified or advertised won't be affected in any way. The Indian Railways has a workforce of 12,18,335 employees currently and allocates 65 per cent of its income towards salaries and pensions.

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