German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp to cut 11,000 jobs

Thyssenkrupp Steel, Germany's largest steel producer, plans to slash its current workforce of 27,000 down to around 16,000 by the end of 2030, company management announced on Monday, reported dpa.

The steelmaker plans to eliminate 5,000 jobs through "adjustments in production and administration," while another 6,000 jobs will be outsourced to external service providers or through sales, according to a thyssenkrupp Steel announcement.

The workforce reduction plan is seen as a key element of the steel firm's industrial concept for the future.

The company, which is majority-owned by the German industrial conglomerate thyssenkrupp, is reacting in part to the weak demand on the steel market.

Production capacities at thyssenkrupp Steel are to be reduced from the current 11.5 million tons per year to just 8.7 million to 9 million tons, which would match the steelmaker's shipment volume from the previous financial year.

Thyssenkrupp's head of steel, Dennis Grimm, said the aim of the restructuring is to secure long-term job prospects for as many employees of the firm as possible.

In order to remain competitive, thyssenkrupp Steel needs to respond to a changed market by cutting costs and reducing its production capacity, Grimm said.

"Comprehensive optimization and streamlining of our production network and processes is necessary to make us fit for the future," he said.

Parallel to the cost-cutting programme, the parent company thyssenkrupp wants to push ahead with controversial plans to spin off the steel division into a fully independent company.

That proposal has been met with opposition from labour leaders.

The Czech energy company EPCG, which is owned by the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, currently holds a 20% stake in thyssenkrupp Steel - and has plans to increase its holding to 50% in a next step.