Employees at Thyssenkrupp’s steel unit are pressing co-owner Daniel Kretinsky for clarity on his plans for the division, with a labor leader cautioning that his silence signals potential challenges for future cooperation.
Reuters reported, “I am very open with regard to the question of investors,” said Knut Giesler, who heads the IG Metall union in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Thyssenkrupp is based.
“But I am opposed if it is unclear what the objective is,” Giesler, added. He is also known to serve as the deputy chairman of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe’s (TKSE) supervisory board.
Earlier this year, Daniel Kretinsky acquired a 20% stake in TKSE from Thyssenkrupp, with negotiations to sell him a further 30% in the business ongoing. However, doubts remain about the strategic viability of a joint venture.
Unions are wary of Thyssenkrupp’s long-standing efforts to sell TKSE, which has been suffering from high costs and cheap Asian imports, and last month announced plans to shed 11,000 jobs, or around 40%, of its staff through cuts, divestments, and outsourcing.
“Three months ago, we sent Mr Kretinsky a questionnaire that’s several pages long,” Giesler said. “He has not responded. That doesn’t inspire confidence that a joint venture with Mr. Kretinsky is really a good idea.”
Kretinsky has praised his partnership with Thyssenkrupp, highlighting the synergy between the energy expertise of his holding company EPCG through which he acquired the stake, with Thyssenkrup being called out for its power-hungry steel-making business.
Talks between Thyssenkrupp and Kretinsky now depend on a mid-term business plan that is currently being developed and is expected early in 2025.