ESSEN, Germany (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp (>> ThyssenKrupp) Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger is confident that an agreement with workers can be found in talks over job and plant guarantees as part of the group's planned steel merger with Tata Steel (>> Tata Steel Limited).

Hiesinger, determined to create Europe's second-largest steelmaker by merging its local steel business with that of Tata Steel, said in a speech all alternatives to the joint venture would "involve far greater job cuts" than currently planned.

"That is why I am confident that we will be able to find a good solution in dialogue with the employee representatives," he added after presenting results for the group's 2016/17 financial year.

Workers fiercely oppose the deal, concerned more steel jobs will be cut at the group than the 2,000 already announced.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Douglas Busvine)

Stocks treated in this article : ThyssenKrupp, Tata Steel Limited