At Thyssenkrupp there is a dispute over the realignment of the steel division. The company boss counts the head of the problem steel subsidiary, the owners and employee representatives argue publicly – a lot of potential for conflict for the meeting of the steel supervisory board scheduled for today.
At Thyssenkrupp there is a heated debate over the future of the traditional steel division: CEO Miguel López apparently wants to get rid of several board members of the steel subsidiary, while shareholders and employee representatives are arguing. This afternoon the division's supervisory board is meeting for a crucial meeting. It's likely to be intense – just two hours later, Stahl's supervisory board chairman Sigmar Gabriel invited people to a press conference. López also sits on this committee.
The Thyssenkrupp Steel division, which is suffering from the economic downturn and cheap imports, is to be reorganized. López wants to reduce production capacity due to weak demand and outsource the steel business to a 50:50 joint venture with the energy holding company of Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský. He already holds 20 percent of the shares. Among other things, the plan is to reduce steel production capacity in Duisburg, which will also involve job cuts. The employee representatives don't think this is a good idea. They fear that thousands of jobs will be lost and several locations will be closed. Křetínský took part in the most recent meeting of the Supervisory Board in August, and he may also be present today.
The Thyssenkrupp steel division employs 27,000 people. 13,000 of them work in Duisburg alone. Thyssenkrupp employs around 70,000 more people in the other group companies.
López is so dissatisfied with the development of the steel division that, according to the “Handelsblatt”, he wants to replace several board members of the steel subsidiary. Three of the company's five board members have made agreements to terminate their contracts, including steel boss Bernhard Osburg. A company spokesman declined to comment.
“Cheap and stylish”
López had publicly counted Osburg – he must finally present a “long-term viable, solid and financeable business plan” for the realignment of the steel division: “What we need now is a sober, realistic look into the future without hope and without whitewashing.” Meanwhile, the two managers are also arguing about the amount of dowry that the parent company should give the daughter on her journey to independence. According to Gabriel, the division sees a need for financing that is around 1.3 billion euros above what the group is offering.
Meanwhile, the dispute between representatives of the shareholders of the entire group and the employee side is becoming more heated. They are very concerned about the appearance and communication of employee representatives, the group said in a statement. This will make the proper handling of overdue decision-making processes to secure the future of steel production in Duisburg and Thyssenkrupp's steel division as a whole more difficult and hindered. “In particular, we condemn the emotional charge and sometimes deliberately hurtful slander and personal hostility.” The signatories included the group's supervisory board chairman Siegfried Russwurm and Ursula Gather, the head of the Krupp Foundation and the largest individual shareholder.
The employee representatives rejected the allegations. “The declaration is an obvious attempt to reverse cause and effect and to duck responsibility,” said the deputy chairman of the Thyssenkrupp supervisory board and deputy head of IG Metall, Jürgen Kerner. That's cheap and styleless. “It is not the person who shouts 'fire' who is responsible for the fire, but the person who sets the fire.” The employees are deeply unsettled. The “reckless, non-transparent and unprofessional actions” of López and Russwurm are solely responsible for this.
Protests against plans
The ownership group, on the other hand, accuses the employees of unsettling employees “by giving the impression of imminent individual job losses on a massive scale.” In recent months, works councils and IG Metall have demonstrated at numerous events against extensive staff cuts and spoken of “horror”.
The steel division needed unavoidable restructuring quickly, the letter continued. “The shareholder representatives on the Supervisory Board fully support the Executive Board of Thyssenkrupp AG under the leadership of Miguel López in its actions aimed at this.”
