Employees

HR strategy*

The KION Group revised its HR strategy in 2024 to ensure that it provides the best possible support for the Playing to Win strategy and its targeted implementation. To this end, the KION Group forged ahead with a number of strategic HR initiatives.

A major step forward was the harmonization of operational workforce planning, which was achieved by rolling out a standard process across the Group with the aim of ensuring access to the right talent in the right place and at the right time. The process and related IT tool were deployed in selected business units in 2024 in order to gain valuable experience ahead of the planned global implementation in 2025.

New HR dashboards that were introduced in 2024 help HR specialists and managers to gain insights into various aspects of the workforce, identify trends and patterns, proactively respond to changes, and make data-driven decisions.

The strategic deployment of employees on assignment to various countries enables the KION Group to strengthen its presence worldwide. It also helps to ensure that the Group’s global projects are implemented to the utmost satisfaction of its international customers. To maximize the effectiveness of such deployments, the KION Group optimized processes and policies in 2024 that take account of tax and social insurance aspects, provisions of employment law, and immigration matters.

Another focus of people development was on having a targeted blend of global and business unit-specific education and development programs that allow the KION Group’s employees to gain invaluable expertise and add to their professional skills. This not only fosters their personal development but should also boost the Company’s innovative and competitive strength.

Implementation of the HR strategy will continue in 2025. The shared KION Group values – integrity, collaboration, courage, and excellence – form the underlying framework and are firmly embedded in the Company’s HR toolbox. The KION Group’s success in the implementation of the Playing to Win corporate strategy is founded on the capabilities and motivation of its employees.

Competitive wages and salaries*

The KION Group pays remuneration that reflects performance, is in line with market levels and, as a rule, is oriented to the competitive situation in the relevant local market. Most of the employment contracts are based on the collective agreements that have been entered into with labor unions or other employee representative bodies and take account of country-specific aspects. In each country in which the KION Group operates, pay must, as a minimum, meet the statutory minimum wage requirements applicable in that country.

Headcount

The average number of employees (full-time equivalents (FTEs)), including trainees and apprentices, in the KION Group was 42,439 in 2024 (2023: 41,552).

>>As at December 31, 2024, the KION Group companies employed 42,719 FTEs, 394 more than a year earlier. (ESRS S1–6 paragraph 50 f)<<*

Personnel expenses rose by 4.6 percent year on year to €3,314.4 million due to the growth in the average number of employees for the year and to general salary increases.

* This disclosure is part of the Group sustainability report of the KION Group for the 2024 financial year.

Diversity and inclusion*

The KION Group, which has a direct presence in around 40 countries, sees itself as a global company.

In addition to equal opportunities and the fair treatment of all employees, the KION Group believes that diversity involves respect for different perspectives and different ways of thinking. It attaches particular importance to upholding its values and fostering constructive collaboration. At the end of 2024, employees of more than 110 nationalities were contributing their range of skills and expertise to the KION Group.

One of the KION Group’s priorities when assigning people to cross-regional projects and continuing professional development (CPD) programs is selecting a cross-section of nationalities. Examples of such programs are the finance function’s talent management program, the mentoring program for women, the KION Management Trainee Program, the KION Transition to Management Program, and the KION Global Executive Program.

Collaboration between employees in different countries is enhanced by international assignments and by the many multinational teams who work together on a daily basis across regions. The KION Group is taking various steps to tackle the challenges of demographic change that go beyond measures to recruit and develop talent. For example, it provides age-appropriate working conditions and health programs so that it can continue to benefit from older employees’ experience and pass it on to the younger generation. As at December 31, 2024, 25.3 percent of employees were over the age of 50 (December 31, 2023: 24.9 percent).

The KION Group promotes a culture of diversity, inclusion, and equity that puts people and their mental health first. It is committed to treating all employees with equal respect, regardless of personal characteristics such as gender, color, ethnic or social origin, age, or religious beliefs. These principles are laid down in the KION Group’s minimum employment standards and apply worldwide at all Group sites. Further information can be found in the Group sustainability report.

The companies in the KION Group strive to offer employees with disabilities the best possible working conditions. They support reintegration into work and enable people with physical disabilities to remain in employment. The KION Group recruits, employs, and promotes people solely on the basis of the skills and qualifications required for the particular role. This approach helps to avoid discrimination when deciding on such matters.

A Diversity & Inclusion Council (D&I Council) was set up in 2022 with members drawn from the ranks of international managers and the objective of making the Company even more focused on the various aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In 2023, the council was expanded to include representatives from all employee resource groups (‘Employee Resource Groups’; ERGs) and allyships/networks, such as BOLD – Black Organization Leadership Development, Parents@KION network, Women@KION HQ, and Ladies Power KION HQ.

The D&I Council met several times in 2024, drew up action plans, oversaw their operational implementation, and monitored their success. In June, for example, the council again organized and held a groupwide diversity and inclusion awareness month. The aim was to boost awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion and to ensure that mutual respect is embedded as a core aspect of this. Workshops, keynote talks, and other events addressed topics such as how respect paves the way for greater equality, builds bridges and can bring cultures together, and how a mixture of generations opens up additional perspectives. Separately from the diversity and inclusion awareness month, employees also had the chance in 2024 to attend inspiring keynote talks that examined subjects such as the importance of non-violent communication and the role of empathy as the basis for a diverse working world.

In addition, new training initiatives were developed and offered through learning platforms, for example a diversity and inclusion learning month. This includes continual updates to the unconscious bias e-learning module and training materials for the talent & performance process aimed at avoiding bias. Efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) also encompass the design of internal communications on internal platforms and in the employee magazine and the external communications strategy pursued on the corporate website and on social media. New initiatives were launched in the form of allyships/networks and ERGs. The Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) champions represent another initiative in which interested employees act as multipliers for D&I efforts within the organization.

The proportion of the KION Group’s total workforce made up of women (calculated in accordance with ESRS) rose to 18.9 percent as at December 31, 2024 (December 31, 2023: 18.6 percent). To help to increase the proportion of management positions occupied by women, the Executive Board has set targets that are published in the ‘corporate governance statement’. The KION Group intends to fill more management positions internationally in order to be able to better meet the growing societal demands. Many KION Group companies offer flexible working-time models in order to promote a good work-life balance, and the option of remote working has been significantly expanded.

Further information on the advancement of women can be found in the section ‘Action to increase the proportion of women’ in the ‘corporate governance statement’.

Development of specialist workers and executives*

People development measures are generally available to the entire KION Group workforce at all organizational levels. The KION Group is committed to introducing new programs targeted at specific groups on an ongoing basis and to offering its employees interesting career opportunities that are compatible with flexible and family-friendly working-time models. The Group companies also collaborate closely on areas such as talent management and training & development programs. This helps to systematically identify and support staff across the Group who have potential, who are high performers, or who are experts in key functions.

A key role is played by the KION Group’s well established, globally standardized, and comprehensive Organization Capability Talent Review (OCTR). The process involves identifying and providing targeted development to high-potential candidates as well as holding regular appraisal meetings between employees and their managers. This enables a fair and clearly documented assessment of performance and means that each employee’s individual development needs can be determined.

The KION Learning Academy, a strategic HR initiative, provides training opportunities for all KION Group employees worldwide. In addition, a global analysis of learning requirements across the Group was conducted for the first time, providing the basis for defining the current training portfolio. The introduction of LinkedIn Learning allows the KION Group to offer all employees high-quality digital learning materials on a wide variety of technical, business, and creative topics that have been produced by industry experts. This has become an integral element of both subject-specific and interdisciplinary CPD. Another focus of the KION Learning Academy is the training available for potential and experienced managers. A further example of a KION Groupwide people development program is the KION China Exchange Program, which promotes dialogue on intercultural, business, and specialist subjects and is open to selected high-potential employees in a range of departments. The KION ITS EMEA and KION SCS Operating Units also have academies that run subject-specific and interdisciplinary training courses to add to and develop employees’ skills, particularly in sales and service. Other CPD and development programs are geared to regional and local requirements. The Workday learning platform is used to roll out strategically important training courses worldwide and enable employees to find out what training is available.

People development, an important topic for the KION Group, includes not only general training and development programs but also individual talent management. The Group’s programs that are primarily aimed at developing leadership capabilities are coordinated by the central HR function in order to maintain uniform quality standards and a consistent approach throughout the KION Group. For example, the KION global executive program (KGEP), which is run in cooperation with the renowned INSEAD business school, is aimed at jointly strengthening global leadership capabilities and coaching skills in order to improve performance. Overall, 64 percent of all executives have completed the program since 2017. In the KION transition to management program (KTMP), selected employees whom the KION Group has identified as having significant management potential are systematically prepared for the role of an executive. Since 2018, five cohorts of international high-potential candidates have successfully completed a training course to set them on the path to taking on an executive role. By the end of December 2024, 58 percent of past participants who were still employed in the KION Group had been promoted to an executive position. The new participants for the sixth cohort were selected in November 2024. The participants in the 18-month global KION Management Trainee Program take part in a total of four modules in which they learn about target functions, key interfaces, and partners. Assignments at international KION Group sites are also part of the program. The fifth cohort, comprising eleven new management trainees from the KION Group, embarked on the program in 2024.

Training and apprenticeships*

Training that incorporates on-the-job work placements is available to people interested in becoming a trainee or apprentice in a variety of professions in the Group companies. In Germany, KION Group companies currently offer apprenticeships for 19 professions. Besides providing dual vocational training schemes, KION Group companies partner with various universities to offer work placements for students combining vocational training with a degree course. The total number of trainees and apprentices worldwide was 851 as at December 31, 2024 (December 31, 2023: 752).

Sharing in the Company’s success*

Since 2014, the remuneration of the approximately 500 executives has included a remuneration component running over several years that is based on the long-term success of the Company and is granted annually.

Employee commitment*

All KION companies aim to ensure a high level of employee commitment, and so a fourth global employee survey was conducted in 2024. This survey was designed to collect input from all employees worldwide, strengthen employees’ commitment and motivation, further embed the corporate culture, and thereby support the sustainable growth of the business.

Further information on the employee survey can be found in the Group sustainability report.

Constructive collective labour relations should be a permanent feature of a corporate culture that promotes collaboration. KION GROUP AG has mechanisms in place – and not just those that are required by law – to allow employee representatives to directly address Group management and its representatives about matters that are of relevance for the workforce and that inform them of economic factors that are significant to the Company’s most fundamental decisions.

Further information on the workforce and on matters such as occupational health & safety and health programs can be found in the Group sustainability report.

* The content of this chapter/section is disclosed voluntarily and is therefore unaudited