German steel company Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe has announced a week-long shutdown at its subsidiary Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel in Schalke, Gelsenkirchen. From mid-October, the plant will cease operations completely, including its administrative departments. According to StahlEisen, around 1,200 employees are at risk.
According to plant manager Angelo Di Martino, the decision is linked to the massive influx of cheap steel onto the European market. In particular, imports from China are being made at prices significantly lower than the cost of production in Germany. This has led to a significant decline in orders for electrical steel, forcing the company to temporarily suspend operations.
Employees will be able to use their remaining vacation days. A decision on the introduction of short-time working will be made in the future. The company emphasized that the situation does not indicate a loss of competitiveness of German production, but is a consequence of market distortion due to dumping.
At the same time, the company’s plant in Isberg, France, plans to operate with restrictions but without a complete shutdown.
The situation has provoked a sharp reaction from local politicians. Representatives of the Die Linke party in Gelsenkirchen said that workers are once again being forced to pay the price for the failures of state industrial policy. They stressed that the strategic site in Schalke is a key element of the energy transition, and that massive imports from China threaten jobs, technological potential, and the future prospects of the region.
Die Linke called on the federal government to take urgent action and introduce effective mechanisms to protect strategic industries that provide jobs and are an important part of Germany’s green transformation.
It should be recalled that Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky recently agreed to sell his 20% stake in Thyssenkrupp’s steel division, abandoning plans to set up a joint venture with the German company. This decision allows Thyssenkrupp to focus on negotiations with India’s Jindal Steel International, which submitted a preliminary bid to acquire the entire business in September.
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