Headcount and personnel structure

The recruitment process used by the individual companies of HHLA in Germany is monitored by the HHLA manpower planning team. Proposals to create additional jobs are examined for their consideration in the planning, their necessity as well as other options for filling positions internally or taking alternative action. This ensures that recruitment does not exceed the strategic HR needs planning for individual companies approved by the Executive Board and that synergy effects can be utilised within the Group.

Number of employees

Employees at the HHLA Group

as of 31.12

HHLA had a total of 6,789 employees at the end of 2023. Compared with the previous year’s total, the number of employees increased by 148, or 2.2 %. In addition, HHLA used an annual average of 530 employees of Gesamthafenbetriebs-Gesellschaft (GHB) (previous year: 705).

The three-year average headcount trend is one of the targets agreed with the Executive Board and is taken into account when determining Executive Board remuneration. Achieving the agreed target range triggers the payment of a corresponding bonus. Remuneration report and remuneration system

Employees by segment

In the Container segment, the number of employees rose to 3,104 as of 31 December 2023. Total headcount was up by 32 year-on-year in the reporting period (previous year: 3,072). This was equivalent to an increase of 1.0 %. Due to the further expansion of services and the increase in vertical integration, headcount in the Intermodal segment rose by a further 165 employees in total to 2,720 (previous year: 2,555). Employee numbers in the Logistics segment, on the other hand, fell to 269 in the reporting period (previous year: 271). This was equivalent to a reduction of 0.7 %. The number of employees at the strategic management holding company decreased by 8.6 % to 596 (previous year: 652). In the Real Estate segment, headcount stood at 100 as of 31 December 2023 (previous year: 91). This figure includes employees from the management holding company who are assigned to the Real Estate segment.

Employees by region

Employees by region

Number of employees as of 31.12.2023: 6,789

3,678 employees were based in Germany as of the end of the financial year (previous year: 3,682). This corresponds to a share of 54.2 % (previous year: 55.4 %). The number of staff employed abroad rose by 5.1 % to 3,111 (previous year: 2,959). In Central Europe, headcount increased year-on-year by 5.8 % to 2,009 (previous year: 1,899). The workforce in Estonia decreased marginally to 196 (previous year: 208) and in Ukraine to 379 (previous year: 412).

Age structure

The average age of staff in Germany in the reporting period was 45.8 (previous year: 45.5). The average age for men was 46.4, whereas women were 42.8 years old on average. Over half of all employees were aged between 30 and 50. As in the previous year, the average employee age at the foreign companies was 42.3.

Length of service

The average length of service with the company in Germany was approximately 16.1 years. The figure outside Germany was 7.0 years.