Germany’s largest steelmaker is proposing to cut 5,000 jobs from the workforce and outsource another 6,000 as it seeks to cut staff costs by around 10%.
The 5,000 job cuts at Thyssenkrupp AG’s steel unit are planned to be implemented by 2030, the company revealed in a statement. It currently employs around 27,000 people.
The company has been hit hard by competition, particularly from Asia, a global excess supply of steel, higher interest rates and rising energy prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Urgent measures are required to improve Thyssenkrupp Steel’s own productivity and operating efficiency and to achieve a competitive cost level,” the company said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
Thyssenkrupp last week downgraded the value of its steel business by a further €1bn, blaming weak earnings expectations and the costly process of going green.
The German industrial firm announced a yearly net loss of €1.4bn, mainly attributable to the write-down, which was lower than last year’s loss of €2bn.
The devaluation marks the conglomerate’s second asset impairment in two years, after its steel unit dropped €2.1bn in value last November.
“In respect of our main strategic issues, the current fiscal year will be a year of decisions – especially for Steel Europe and Marine Systems,” CEO Miguel Lopez said in a statement last Tuesday.
