A week after the publication of alarming annual results, German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp announced its intention to lay off 11,000 of the 27,000 employees in its steelmaking branch by 2030, which represents 40% of its workforce. Around 5,000 production and administrative positions will thus be eliminated, while 6,000 others will be “transferred” outside the company through measures to outsource services or sell activities, indicated Thyssenkrupp Steel (TKSE), subsidiary of the Thyssenkrupp conglomerate, which has a total of 98,000 employees.
The bleeding is also accompanied by a plan to reduce its steel production capacity from 11.5 million tonnes to a future target of 8.7 to 9 million tonnes, “in order to adjust to future expectations of the market,” said the group in a press release. To do this, it wishes to close or sell blast furnaces 8 and 9 at the Hamborn site (North Rhine-Westphalia). In addition, the Kreuztal-Eichen site (west of Germany), which employs 1,000 people, will be closed. Finally, the decision to continue the conversion of blast furnaces to carbon-free processes, electric arc or hydrogen, “will be taken once the company knows the precise conditions”, indicates the company.
Red lines crossed
At the same time, Thyssenkrupp continues its disengagement from Thyssenkrupp Steel. This year, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has already acquired a 20% stake in the steel manufacturer. Shortly, an additional 30% is expected to be sold to it, creating an equal joint venture. However, according to the economic daily Handelsblatt, the businessman’s intentions are not yet clear, due to the uncertainties surrounding the TKSE restructuring plan and the economic prospects of the site.
TKSE has in fact justified its social plan by deep economic difficulties: the subsidiary is now valued at 2.4 billion euros, or less than half of what it was worth two years ago. In addition to rising energy costs in Germany, he says he suffers from “low-cost” competition from China. “Increasingly, overcapacity and the resulting increase in low-cost imports, particularly from Asia, are weighing considerably on competitiveness,” the steelmaker added in a statement.
Unsurprisingly, unions and political circles reacted strongly to these job destructions which are hitting North Rhine-Westphalia hard, the birthplace of Thyssenkrupp. The regional manager of IG Metall Knut Giesler thus spoke of a “massive provocation” on the part of the group.
“We don’t even negotiate that. Period!”, we could read on a leaflet distributed to employees at the start of the week. “Layoffs for economic reasons, site closures – these are our red lines, which we have drawn repeatedly. The group is crossing them,” said Knut Giesler, who is also vice-chairman of the supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp Steel. For its part, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia declared that it would oppose any economic layoffs.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
