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"Uncertainty among the workforce is at a maximum. Fears about
the future of employees and that of the company can be felt
everywhere," said Tekin Nasikkol, who also sits on
Thyssenkrupp's 20-seat supervisory board.
His comments come after Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) late on
Thursday said its chairman, chief executive and five other
supervisory and management board members would leave, reflecting
a deepening dispute over the steel unit's future.
Thyssenkrupp shares were flat at 0903 GMT after earlier falling
by 1.8%. The Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach foundation,
Thyssenkrupp's top shareholder with a 21% stake, also declined
to comment.
At the core of the clash lies the question over how deep a
planned restructuring of TKSE should be and how much money it
needs ahead of a partial sale to Czech billionaire Daniel
Kretinsky.
Kretinsky's energy holding EPH declined to comment.
A business plan presented earlier month, and rubber-stamped by
consultancies Roland Berger and McKinsey, didn't go far enough
for Thyssenkrupp CEO Miguel Lopez, who is tasked to finally get
a sale of TKSE done after numerous failed attempts.
"Mr. Lopez will now implement this strategy all the more swiftly
and consistently. That is the clear message of yesterday's
development," said Marc Tuengler of DSW, a lobby group that
represents Thyssenkrupp's private shareholders.
Works council head Nasikkol said the government should now get
involved to help solve the dispute that has engulfed Germany's
largest steelmaker and its roughly 27,000 employees.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement that all
stakeholders now needed to ensure the company returns to calmer
waters and set aside their differences.
Kretinsky recently bought a 20% stake in TKSE and there are
concerns over what the current crisis means for ongoing talks
for him to buy a further 30% from Thyssenkrupp, according to
people familiar with the matter.
"It can be assumed that the talks with Mr Kretinsky regarding a
50:50 joint venture are now really picking up speed," DSW's
Tuengler said.
Labour representatives on Thyssenkrupp's supervisory board have
requested an extraordinary board meeting to discuss the current
crisis, a spokesperson for the IG Metall union said.
($1 = 0.9020 euros)
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Additional
reporting by Markus Wacket in Berlin and Jan Lopatka in Prague;
Editing by Ludwig Burger and Miral Fahmy)
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