Loss-making Thyssenkrupp Steel plans to reduce workforce by around 40%

THYSSENKRUPP Steel Europe (TKSE) plans to cut 5,000 jobs by 2030 and an additional 6,000 jobs through the sale of business activities or transfer to external service providers, the company said on Monday (Nov 25).

The cuts represent some 40 per cent of the company’s workforce, which currently stands at 27,000.

Germany’s largest steelmaker is under pressure from cheaper Asian competitors, high power prices and a cooling global economy, leading to operating losses in four of the past five years.

“Urgent measures are required to improve Thyssenkrupp Steel’s own productivity and operating efficiency and to achieve a competitive cost level,” the company said in a statement.

The new strategy also foresees the reduction of production capacity from 11.5 million tons to a future shipment target level of 8.7 to 9 million tons, “an adjustment to future market expectations,” TKSE said.

Its processing site in Kreuztal-Eichen is to be closed, the company said.

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The sale of its plant in Duisburg, Huettenwerke Krupp Mannesmann, is also a key part of the planned capacity reduction, but if a sale is not achievable, it will hold talks with other shareholders about closure scenarios, the company said.

Earlier this month, Thyssenkrupp wrote down the value of its steel division by another US$1.06 billion, blaming the sector’s worsening outlook. REUTERS