(New: Details)

DUISBURG (dpa-AFX) - Germany's largest steel manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Steel intends to significantly reduce its production capacities in Duisburg. This will also involve job cuts, the company announced on Thursday evening. It is not clear how many jobs could be affected and when the restructuring will begin. Around 27,000 people work in the division of the Thyssenkrupp Group, 13,000 of them in Duisburg. An employment guarantee applies until the end of March 2026. "It is the declared aim to continue to avoid redundancies," the statement said.

The core of the realignment is to be a reduction in production capacities for a sales volume of 11.5 million tons to between 9 million and 9.5 million tons per year. This corresponds to a reduction 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 targeted volume of 9 million to 9.5 million tons corresponds to the level of the past three years, the company emphasized.

The 11.5 million tons also include the capacities produced for Thyssenkrupp by Duisburg-based Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM). Thyssenkrupp Steel holds a 50 percent stake in HKM, while the Salzgitter steel group holds 30 percent. Almost 3000 people work at HKM.

The highly cyclical division has been in the spotlight for years. Thyssenkrupp is planning to spin off Steel. Talks about a 50:50 partnership in the steel business with the Czech energy company EPH have been underway for some time.

Realignment announced weeks ago

Thursday's announcement was not unexpected. Sigmar Gabriel, Chairman of the Steel Supervisory Board, had said in a "WAZ" interview at the end of February that the division's Executive Board wanted to draw up proposals for a restructuring. He also said that job cuts could not be ruled out. The end result must be a sustainable steel company "in which the children and grandchildren of today's steel workers will also find a job". The former Vice-Chancellor also emphasized that decisions should be made together with the co-determination committees.

Thursday's announcement nevertheless caused great concern among employees and politicians. The Chairman of the General Works Council of the Steel Division, Tekin Nasikkol, spoke of a harsh cut. "We demand a future instead of redundancies," 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 first and foremost for the many employees". The Group faces the major challenge of finding fair solutions with the social partners for those affected.

Felix Banaszak, member of the Green Party in Duisburg, spoke of a "bitter blow". However, the news does not come as a complete surprise, as the site has been producing significantly less steel than capacity would allow for several years. "The adjustment of production capacities that has now been announced can also be an opportunity to make the site sustainable and profitable."

Thyssenkrupp: Securing jobs in the long term

"The planned measures are absolutely necessary to maintain competitiveness in order to secure the future of steel production at the Duisburg site," the company explained. 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 in the European steel market and in key markets. These include high energy costs and increasing import pressure, primarily from Asia.

SPD state chairwoman Sarah Philipp called the plans "a bitter pill for NRW and the Ruhr region". Thyssenkrupp belongs to NRW like the Rhine and the Ruhr. "Every cut at Thyssenkrupp is also a cut for North Rhine-Westphalia as an industrial location."

The company emphasized that it would continue to restructure its production in the direction of climate-neutral steel production. "The construction of the first direct reduction plant at the Duisburg site will continue to be implemented as planned, with the support of the funds released for this purpose by the federal and state governments." The goal of climate-neutral production by 2045 at the latest also remains in place.

The plant will replace a blast furnace. It is due to start in 2027 and will later be operated with climate-friendly hydrogen. The federal government and NRW are supporting the project with two billion euros.

A spokeswoman for Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck said that the ministry regrets the company's decision. This had been made in particular against the background of global competition and an oversupply. She emphasized that the federal government was providing significant support to Thyssenkrupp in initiating the switch to green steel with vigor. 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 unanswered questions. For example, there is no information about the timetable or costs. The main question of whether the steel business will remain part of Thyssenkrupp is also still open.

A staff meeting for all locations in Duisburg is planned for April 30. It is to take place in the MSV Duisburg stadium. According to Nasikkol, the works council is expecting a large number of the 27,000 employees to attend. "We will emphasize our demands."/tob/DP/ngu