Thyssenkrupp's Steel Unit Restructuring: No Forced Layoffs Amid Union Support

Thyssenkrupp's steel unit restructuring will proceed without forced layoffs. This decision meets the critical demand of labor unions who have opposed management's plans. Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky aims to acquire a 20% stake. The agreement includes a committee for labors' input, ensuring a stable transition process with significant workforce engagement.

The restructuring of Thyssenkrupp's struggling steel unit will take place without forced layoffs, the company said on Monday, meeting a key demand of powerful labour unions that have harshly lashed out at management in recent weeks. Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE), in which Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky wants to take a 20% stake, has said it needs to cut job and capacity, stoking fears among workers that compulsory redundancies are on the cards.

But those are to be avoided in an agreement reached between parent Thyssenkrupp AG, Kretinsky's EPCG and TKSE, the company said in an e-mailed statement, adding this provided a "stable and reliable" framework for upcoming changes. In addition, labour representatives will form a committee to join the division's restructuring process, which marks a major step towards securing workers' support for the planned partial sale as well as painful cuts.

"The basic agreement is also an important step as the implementation of the new business plan will take several years," TKSE said in a statement. TKSE's leadership is currently working on the division's new business plan, which will likely entail a proposal to cut thousands of jobs, and is expected to present the plan to the relevant committees this summer.