Salzgitter AG has signed the contracts for the complete takeover of Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM) in Duisburg. Previously, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) held 50 percent, Salzgitter 30 percent, and the French company Vallourec 20 percent. Now Salzgitter is acquiring all shares, while TKSE and Vallourec are withdrawing.
The takeover comes with massive job cuts: of the current roughly 3,000 employees, only about 1,000 are expected to remain by the end of 2028. “This is a tough but necessary step,” said Salzgitter’s HR director Birgit Dietze. The changes are to be “fundamentally socially acceptable,” the company says. Without the cuts, the takeover would not have been feasible, the company argues. The alternative would have been a complete closure.
Salzgitter plans to build an electric arc furnace in Duisburg to produce climate-friendly “green” steel in the future. “We are pleased that we have now found a satisfactory solution for all parties involved,” said Salzgitter CEO Gunnar Groebler. TKSE CEO Marie Jaroni called it an “important milestone.” HKM will only supply TKSE until the end of 2028; originally, deliveries were planned until 2032. A spokesman for the IG Metall union described the job cuts as “bitter” but stressed that the site would be preserved and that at least 1,000 well-secured industrial jobs in North Rhine-Westphalia would remain.
Source: www.tagesspiegel.de
