Thyssenkrupp Steel: 11,000 jobs at risk – collective agreement hits hard!

Thyssenkrupp Steel: 11,000 jobs at risk – collective agreement hits hard!

Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) is facing a massive restructuring that will have far-reaching consequences for the workforce. A new restructuring collective agreement, which was negotiated between management and IG Metall after three days of negotiations, is set to apply until 2030. The agreement provides for significant cuts. Working hours will be reduced to 32.5 hours per week, while holiday pay will be completely eliminated. This results in an average loss of income of around 8 percent for employees.

Another important element of the collective agreement is the weakening of the anniversary bonus, which in the future will fall to 1,000 euros after 25 years of service. The surcharge for on-call duty will also be halved. The savings from these measures are intended to help reduce personnel costs by a low three-digit million euro amount per year.

Job cuts and production cuts

The announced restructuring is accompanied by massive job cuts. In total, more than 11,000 jobs are to be cut by 2029, reducing the number of employees to fewer than 16,000. This primarily affects production, where 1,600 jobs will be lost due to the closure of production units. In addition, 3,700 jobs in all corporate divisions will be affected by 2028.

The planned closure of a location in Bochum by 2028 represents a further cut. This measure is part of the strategy to adapt to the economic weakness, which is exacerbated by high energy prices and cheap imports. Annual shipment levels will also be reduced from 11.5 million tons to 8.7 to 9 million tons. However, the closure of the plant in Kreuztal-Eichen has been stopped for the time being; instead, an optimization concept should be developed.

Social aspects and further steps

Although the cuts are serious, redundancies should be avoided. A reconciliation of interests and a social plan are to be drawn up by September in order to mitigate the effects on the affected employees. However, the approval of the IG Metall members and the financing from the parent company Thyssenkrupp still have to be secured.

The agreement is seen as an important milestone for the future viability of Thyssenkrupp Steel. With the conditions set out in the collective agreement, the company is trying to assert itself in a difficult market environment characterized by economic uncertainty. As the South Germans and daily news According to reports, many details of the restructuring collective agreement are already public, but the final elaboration of the key points is scheduled for the coming weeks.