Thyssenkrupp Steel to axe 11,000 jobs, slash capacity
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Monday 01 Dec 2025
(Sharecast News) - Thyssenkrupp's struggling steel business is to slash its workforce and cut production, the German industrial giant confirmed on Monday.
The conglomerate said it had reached a "milestone" agreement with the IG Metall union, under which it would cut or outsource about 11,000 jobs, around 40% of the workforce.
It will also reduce production capacity to a shipping level of 8.7m to 9m metric tons.
Wilfried von Rath, chief human resources officer at Thyssenkrupp Steel, said: "We have got to be open about honest about this: there will be a lot of lay-offs and we will making some swinging cuts.
"But we are doing this to become more competitive and secure as many jobs as possible for the future.
"The collective restructuring agreement and company agreements show that we want to pursue this policy with a fair-minded approach, a sense of proportion and above all without compulsory redundancies."
Marie Jaroni, chief executive of Thyssenkrupp Steel, said: "We have cut the Gordian knot so we can make Thyssenkrupp Steel fit for the future."
Thyssenkrupp Steel has faced a number of headwinds in recent years, including soaring energy costs in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, soft demand and stiff competition.
Thyssenkrupp first laid out its plans for the steel unit last year. IG Metall initially said it would fight them with "fierce resistance".
The restructuring process would now be implemented "immediately", Thyssenkrupp Steel said.
As well as looking to turn around its steel operations, Thyssenkrupp is midway through a company-wide restructuring, including selling off non-core assets and spinning out its five core divisions.
In October, it floated submarine manufacturing business Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems on the German stock exchange.
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN