ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe on Monday announced a plan to shrink its workforce from the current 27,000 to 16,000 within six years.
The company said blamed an increase in cheap imports, especially from Asia, for putting an increased and “significant strain on competitiveness.”
What the company said
“Urgent measures are required to improve Thyssenkrupp Steel’s own productivity and operational efficiency and to achieve a competitive cost level,” a statement from the firm said.
Some 5,000 jobs in its European steel operations would be cut by the end of 2030 through “adjustments in production and administration,” it announced.
A further 6,000 jobs are to be outsourced or stripped away in business sales, according to the plan.
To address overcapacity in the market, the company plans to reduce production capacity from the current 11.5 million metric tons to a future target level of 8.7 to 9 million tons.
Thyssenkrupp’s head of steel, Dennis Grimm, said the restructuring was aimed at securing long-term job prospects for as many employees as possible.
“Comprehensive optimization and streamlining of our production network and processes is necessary to make us fit for the future,” he said.
More to come…
rc/msh (dpa, AFP, Reuters)
