“In the end, Thyssenkrupp will be practically dissolved”: Group plans clear-cutting
Thyssenkrupp is one of the most important companies in German industrial history. But now the giant is threatened with dwarfism.
The struggling German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp is apparently set to undergo a radical restructuring. The newspaper "Bild" reports this, citing company sources. CEO Miguel Lopez is planning to convert the company into a holding company. In addition, further parts of the company are to be sold.
More than 200 years after its founding, in addition to the steel division (sale) and shipbuilding (IPO), according to sources in "Bild," the company is now preparing to "exit the steel trade." Thyssenkrupp still employs 16,000 people, and the division generates more than 12 billion euros in sales. Now, it is set to go public.
Bild quotes an insider as saying that stock market interest in the less lucrative steel division is low, but the board still wants to go ahead with it.
According to the report, the management also intends to close or sell parts of the automotive supplier business. Afterward, this division could be left with "only a shell," it says.
The company's headquarters are to be reduced from 500 to approximately 100 employees. Further job cuts in administration will also be planned.
The complete restructuring program would cost the company, which recently announced the closure of its Hagen-Hohenlimburg site , about 70 percent of its current annual revenue, according to the "Bild" newspaper. More than 50 percent of the current 98,000 employees would be eliminated. The paper quoted company insiders as saying: "Ultimately, Thyssenkrupp will be practically dissolved."
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