District Administrator Ahke raises the alarm: 100 job cuts in the Unstrut-Hainich district!

District Administrator Ahke raises the alarm: 100 job cuts in the Unstrut-Hainich district!

After the first 100 days in office, Thomas Ahke, district administrator of the Unstrut-Hainich district, draws a sober balance and presents his plans for household consolidation. He would like to reduce 100 jobs in the administration in the next five years in order to relieve the financially battered district. This is a clear call to end the "budget acrobatics", as he announced on Monday.

Before he explained the specific steps, Ahke made it clear that there were no longer many ways to disguise the budget situation. In view of unforeseen expenses, he could even consider a lock of the entire budget. "It is important that we realistically deal with our means," he emphasized, pointing out that around 850 employees are already working in the district administration.

ahke on the challenges

The 53-year-old politician describes the challenges of his new office as expected. "I had a big mouth in the election campaign and I have to do justice to that," he said. These words reflect the understanding that he has for the seriousness of his task. He looks at the draft budget for 2025 with a certain concern: "It will be a tearful autumn," warned Ahke in view of the tense financial situation, which is not stabilized even after several string rounds.

This faces the district before a significant change: for the first time in a decade, it must make do without any needs. For him, this is a "cold withdrawal" and underlines the need to implement structural changes in the administration. In this light it is also required that the three department heads have to save five positions, although 16 positions have already been deleted.

optimizations in the social area and new approaches

But Ahke does not see the savings as the only solution. He pleads to better organize and control the work processes in the social area in order to increase efficiency. "The many overtime of the employees are a clear sign that we have to act here," said the district administrator. He is willing to improve through structural adjustments and new processes.

Support hopes for two newly set process managers to help optimize the internal processes. Another employee will be responsible for the often inadequate job descriptions to ensure an appropriate remuneration of the employees. This strategic approach could help strengthen the internal structures and promote the motivation of the employees.

ahke, who prevailed in the election campaign against long-time incumbent Harald Zanker, faces the task of leading the Unstrut-Hainich district into a new era of financial stability. He is aware of the challenges, but advertises fresh approaches to make the future of the district positively. "The citizens must be able to count on us," he concluded.

More details on these developments are at www.tagesschau.de to be found.