The Thyssenkrupp logo. (picture alliance / dpa)
Germany's ailing industrial giant Thyssenkrupp and union IG Metall agreed on Wednesday to 3,000 job cuts in the company's steel division.
The new wage agreement aims to avoid operational redundancies through March 31, 2026, Thyssenkrupp said.
The company had about 28,000 employees in its steel division at the end of 2019. The agreed-upon cuts will affect 2,000 employees in production and 1,000 in administration.
Last year the EU Commission declined Thyssenkrupp's long-planned merger with Indian competitor Tata Steel.
The company will cut up to 2,000 jobs over the next three years, with a further 1,000 to be cut by 2026.
Thyssenkrupp plans to reinforce the western German city of Duisburg as its most important steel location while plants in other cities, such as Bochum, will see a reduction of 1,000 jobs by 2026. In Duisburg, Thyssenkrupp intends to wrap up heavy plate production, which currently employs about 800 people.
Employee representatives seemed satisfied with the deal.
The collective agreement creates "security for employees in very difficult times," said Tekin Nasikkol, the works council chairman for Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe.
According to Thyssenkrupp, the job cuts are necessary to make extensive investments in the steel sector, allowing an additional 800 million euros (864 million dollars) to be invested over the next six years, on top of the already planned investments of about 570 million euros annually.
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