The steel manufacturer's planned reduction in production capacity is also calling on the state government. The Minister of Economic Affairs is calling for fair solutions for employees.
Duisburg - North Rhine-Westphalia's Economics Minister Mona Neubaur (Greens) has criticized the steel manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Steel's plans for production cuts in Duisburg.
“The announcement of Thyssenkrupp's business decision to reduce excess capacity and thus jobs in Duisburg is disappointing news - for the steel location Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia, but primarily for the many employees,” said Neubaur in Düsseldorf.
Thyssenkrupp Steel is Germany's largest steel manufacturer and a division of the industrial group Thyssenkrupp. The board announced on Thursday evening that production capacities in Duisburg were to be significantly reduced. This will “also involve a reduction in jobs that cannot yet be quantified”. This will also affect downstream processing stages as well as the administration and service areas. Around 27,000 people currently work in the division, including 13,000 in Duisburg. An employment guarantee applies until the end of March 2026. “It is the declared goal to continue to avoid redundancies for operational reasons,” it said.
The company should find “fair and sustainable solutions” for employees
Neubaur continued that redundancies for operational reasons are currently excluded until 2026. “The group is now faced with the great challenge of finding fair and sustainable solutions for those affected together with the social partners.” This is all the more true since Thyssenkrupp has received billions of euros in state support in recent years.
There has been a significant overproduction of steel globally for years, said Neubaur. This is now coupled with a decline in demand due to the deteriorating global economic situation as a result of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine. “In order to position itself for the future against the background of this difficult global competitive situation, the company must now consistently push forward the climate-neutral transformation of its production processes,” demanded the minister.
The minister insists on implementing the new building plans
This must be done out of responsibility for the region and the employees, who must be able to rely on their employer. “We therefore assume that the company will fully implement the blast furnace route with a hydrogen-based DRI plant and two melters at the Duisburg site, as planned and negotiated with the European Commission in a joint effort.” The three billion euro plant is intended to have one Replace blast furnace. The federal and state governments are funding construction and operation with around two billion euros.
At least 17 percent capacity reduction planned
According to the information, the core of the realignment will be a reduction in installed production capacities from the current 11.5 million tons to around 9 to 9.5 million tons per year. The 11.5 million tons also include the amounts of steel attributed to Thyssenkrupp, which are produced by the Duisburg company Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM). Thyssenkrupp Steel has a 50 percent stake in HKM. The planned reduction in capacity corresponds to a decline of 17 to 22 percent.
Thyssenkrupp Steel emphasized that it will continue to convert production towards climate-neutral steel production. “The construction of the first direct reduction plant at the Duisburg site will continue to be implemented as planned, with support from the funding released for this purpose by the federal and state governments.” The goal of producing completely climate-neutral production by 2045 at the latest also remains unrestricted. dpa