Thyssenkrupp steel comes to conclusion with workers on less working hours, site closure

Germany’s Largest Steelmaker Thyssenkrupp and Trade Union IG Mettle revealed they agreed on reduced working hours, lower bonus payments and site closures, on Saturday, as a part of their revamp. 

After the tension between the management and the labour representatives, the deal with the workers marks a significant leap in Thyssenkrupp’s restructuring phase. The former German Steel icon is also aiming to expand as a holding company in the near future. 

The new collective bargaining agreement will be implemented and must be approved by IG Metall members at Thyssenkrupp’s steel unit TKSE. It runs until 30 September, 2030 and is pending an agreement on the division’s future financing. 

Thyssenkrupp’s announcement is that up to 11,000 jobs at the steel unit, TKSE, had to be cut or outsourced and that annual production capacity would be lowered from 11.5 million tons to 8.7-9.0 million tons. 

“We went to the pain threshold and only made concessions where it was really necessary in order to secure jobs and locations,” said Tekin Nasikkol, head of Thyssenkrupp’s works council and member of the group’s supervisory board, reports Reuters. 

Nasikkol also added, “We have now created the conditions for the company to emerge from the difficult situation out of its own strength.”