DUISBURG (dpa-AFX) - Employee representatives at Thyssenkrupp Steel have reacted sharply to the parent company's announcement on Friday that it will sell a 20 percent stake to the holding company EPCG. The news hit like a bombshell, according to a leaflet published by IG Metall on Saturday. "This is a scandal, because CEO Miguel López and Supervisory Board Chairman Siegfried Russwurm have once again circumvented co-determination and thus deliberately offended us."

The Chairman of the Steel General Works Council, Tekin Nasikkol, is quoted as saying: "We are not being informed by these gentlemen any more than the law requires. This is more than a provocation for a traditionally co-determined company like ours. It is a calculated declaration of war."

Knut Giesler, District Director of IG Metall NRW, announced "massive resistance" from the union. Around 27,000 people work in the steel division of the Thyssenkrupp Group, 13,000 of them in Duisburg. Almost all sites are located in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Tuesday protest rally instead of staff meeting

The General Works Council and IG Metall have therefore decided to cancel a staff meeting scheduled for Tuesday and instead call for participation in a public protest rally in front of the Steel headquarters in Duisburg, the Works Council announced. It is to be held under the motto "Future instead of dismissal". "The 27,000 employees in the steel industry will express their protest loudly and fight for a good future for steel," the works council added.

The employees of steel manufacturer HKM in Duisburg, in which Thyssenkrupp's steel division holds a 50 percent stake, are also being called on to take part. HKM employs around 3000 people. Around 10,000 employees were expected to attend the initially planned staff meeting in a stadium.

Two weeks ago, Thyssenkrupp Steel announced a significant reduction in steel production capacities at the Duisburg site, which will also lead to further job cuts. Details have not yet been finalized. The originally planned staff meeting was to discuss these plans.

On Friday, thyssenkrupp then announced that the steel division would be co-owned by an energy company: the holding company EPCG, owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Initially, EPCG is to acquire a 20 percent stake. The aim is to form an independent joint venture in which both partners will each hold 50 percent. Employee representatives had already expressed criticism on Friday and demanded compliance with collective agreements that rule out compulsory redundancies until the end of March 2026.

SPD parliamentary group wants to take part in rally

The SPD state parliamentary group announced on Sunday that it would be taking part in the rally in Duisburg on Tuesday. They wanted to "express our solidarity with the employees", explained parliamentary group leader Jochen Ott in a statement. "There were times when the company was a model of co-determination in the workplace. But these times seem to be over - and that is a punch in the gut for those affected."/tob/DP/he