Thyssenkrupp Steel unveils workforce reduction strategy for layoffs - Thyssenkrupp Steel is advocating for a social agreement regarding potential workforce reductions.
Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe is gearing up to chop a whopping 11,000 jobs, as announced at the tail-end of November. The company's new man in charge of personnel, Dirk Schulte, has colloquially filled the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) in on the latest developments, stating that talks with the IG Metall union will commence soon.
According to Schulte, the much-touted social plan will prioritize measures like early retirement, juicy severance packages, and transfer companies geared towards helping the soon-to-be-displaced workers secure new gigs. However, that etched-in-stone 11,000 job reduction figure isn't up for negotiation, he stressed.
The union, IG Metall, has voiced its fierce opposition to these strategies. When Thyssenkrupp Steel presented their weapons-grade restructuring plans last November, they aimed to trim the workforce from around 27,000 to a lean 16,000 over a six-year period. That equates to 5,000 job losses via production and administrative adjustments and external service providers or by selling off business units [1][3].
IG Metall fired back with stinging critiques and announced "bitter resistance" to the proposed measures. The union demanded guarantees of long-term financial stability as a prerequisite for negotiations about job cuts and plant closures. Furthermore, IG Metall is knee-deep in negotiations concerning factory shutdowns, such as the Krupp Mannesmann steelworks, via a "social contract" designed to soften the impact on employees [3]. The union is also keeping a beady eye on potential layoffs extending across Thyssenkrupp's wider operations [4].
[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/eu/Focus-eu-steel-thyssenkrupp-aufarbeitung-2019-12-20/[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-29/thysseenkrupp-passes-resolution-for-coal-exit-but-not-as-fast-as-investors-want-p1579718933[3] https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-steel-echvs-unions/unions-push-for-immediate-employee-protection-in-Germanys-largest-steelmaker-idUKWZN9H6BW7[4] https://www. bloombergquint.com/global-economics/2020/04/30/scholz-warns-german-companies-against-layoffs-as-coronavirus-slams-economy
In light of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe's restructuring plan to eliminate 11,000 jobs, it seems that the European Union's employment policy will play a significant role in ensuring the affected workers find new employment opportunities within the industry, business, and finance sectors. The IG Metall union, opposing Thyssenkrupp's strategies, has called for long-term financial stability guarantees before negotiating job cuts and plant closures, indicating the immense implications of the restructuring plan on EC countries' employment policy.
