Turning the Tide at Thyssenkrupp: A Social Plan for Job Reduction
Thyssenkrupp Steel Plans to Reduce Workforce Through Social Measures - Thyssenkrupp Steel seeks a social agreement for workforce reduction.
Get ready, folks! The steel game's a-changin'! Germany's steel magnate, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, is diving headfirst into a personnel overhaul, taking aim at 11,000 positions. Dirk Schulte, the new head honcho of human resources, broke the news to Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ), revealing that discussions with union titans IG Metall are imminent.
The planned restructuring is packing quite a punch, rolling out perks like early retirement packages, generous severance deals, and the establishments of transfer companies. According to Schulte, the core objective is to land people on their feet and find them some solid, steel-sizzling new gigs. He stresses that the 11,000-position purge is no negotiable number.
IG Metall isn't hailing the plan with open arms, instead, spitting out some stern opposition. When the curtain went up on Thyssenkrupp Steel's so-called "revitalization debut" back in November 2021, the plan was to pare down the workforce from the current 27,000 to a svelte 16,000 over a six-year span. That'd require nipping and tucking 5,000 jobs through procedural and administrative trimming, and outsourcing another 6,000 to external service providers or auctioning them off, the company eagerly shouted.
IG Metall shot back with some fierce scorn and a promise of bitter rebellion. Towards the end of 2021, the union called for some hefty preconditions for negotiations, such as a ban on dismissals and plant shutdowns, plus a long-term financial guarantee from the company.
- ThyssenKrupp
- Job Cuts
- Social Plan
- IG Metall
- Germany
- Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe
- WAZ
- Dirk Schulte
- Duisburg
- Despite the intense opposition from IG Metall, Dirk Schulte, the new HR head at Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, is determined to implement the social plan for job reduction, offering early retirement packages, generous severance deals, and transfer companies to help employees find new jobs in other industries or sectors, as the company looks towards revitalization.
- The looming job reduction at ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is expected to have a significant impact on the employment policies of EC countries, as well as the wider finance and business sectors, given the company's economic influence in Germany and beyond.
