Politicians and businesses reacted with concern to the announcement of a production cut in Duisburg. However, the plans were not completely unexpected.
Duisburg - Germany's largest steel manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Steel wants to significantly reduce its production capacity in Duisburg. The company announced that this would also involve job cuts. How many positions could be affected and when the renovation should begin is unclear. Around 27,000 people work in the Thyssenkrupp Group division, 13,000 of them 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,” the statement said.
The core of the realignment should be a reduction in production capacity for a sales volume of 11.5 million tons to 9 million to 9.5 million tons per year. This corresponds to a decrease of up to 22 percent. For comparison: in 2023, the entire German steel industry produced 30.6 million tons of hot-rolled steel products. The company emphasized that the targeted volume of 9 million to 9.5 million tons corresponds to the level of the past three years.
The 11.5 million tons also include the capacities produced for Thyssenkrupp by the Duisburg company Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM). Thyssenkrupp Steel has a 50 percent stake in HKM, and the Salzgitter steel group has a 30 percent stake. Almost 3,000 people work at HKM.
The division, which is highly dependent on the economy, has been in focus for years. Thyssenkrupp is planning to separate Steel. Discussions about a 50:50 partnership in the steel business have been ongoing for some time with the Czech energy company EPH.
Reorganization announced weeks ago
The announcement was not unexpected. Steel supervisory board chairman Sigmar Gabriel said in a “WAZ” interview at the end of February that the division board wanted to develop proposals for restructuring. A reduction in employment cannot be ruled out either. The end result must be a sustainable steel company “in which the children and grandchildren of today’s steel workers can also find a job.” The former Vice Chancellor also emphasized that decisions should be made together with the co-determination committees.
The announcement nevertheless caused great concern among employees and politicians. The general works council chairman of the steel division, Tekin Nasikkol, spoke of a tough cut. “We demand the future instead of dismissal,” he said. IG Metall district manager Knut Giesler explained: “We will not accept that tens of thousands of people have to fear for their jobs.”
NRW Economics Minister Mona Neubaur called the announcement “disappointing news - for Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia as a steel location, but primarily for the many employees.” The group is faced with the great challenge of finding fair solutions for those affected with the social partners.
The Duisburg Green Party member of the Bundestag Felix Banaszak spoke of a “severe blow”. However, the news does not come as a complete surprise, as significantly less steel has been produced at the site for several years than capacity would allow. “The adjustment of production capacities that has now been announced can also be an opportunity to make the location sustainable and profitable.”
Thyssenkrupp: Securing jobs in the long term
“The planned measures are absolutely necessary to maintain competitiveness and to lead steel production at the Duisburg site into a secure future,” explained the company. This would also secure high-quality jobs in the long term and make the basic supply of steel in Germany resilient.
The planned realignment is a response to the weak economy on the one hand, but above all to medium and long-term structural changes on the European steel market and in key markets. These included high energy costs and increasing import pressure, predominantly from Asia.
The SPD state chairwoman Sarah Philipp called the plans “a very bitter pill for North Rhine-Westphalia and the Ruhr area”. Thyssenkrupp belongs to NRW like the Rhine and the Ruhr. “Every cut at Thyssenkrupp is also a cut for the North Rhine-Westphalian industrial location.”
The company emphasized that it would 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 by the federal and state governments.” The goal of producing climate-neutral production by 2045 at the latest also remains.
The plant will replace a blast furnace. It is scheduled to start in 2027 and will later be operated with climate-friendly hydrogen. The federal government and North Rhine-Westphalia are funding the project with two billion euros.
A spokeswoman for Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck said the ministry regretted the business decision. This was made particularly against the background of global competition and oversupply. She emphasized that the federal government provides significant support for Thyssenkrupp to forcefully initiate the switch to green steel. The federal government is not leaving other steel producers in Germany alone either.
Expert sees open questions
Baader Bank analyst Christian Obst sees a reduction in capacity as sensible. However, there are many open questions. There is no information about the schedule or costs. The main question of whether the steel business will remain part of Thyssenkrupp also remains an issue.
A staff meeting for all locations in Duisburg is planned for April 30th. It will take place in the MSV Duisburg stadium. According to Nasikkol, the works council expects a large part of the 27,000 employees to do so. “We will emphasize our demands.” dpa