Steel workers in the Siegerland: Protest against impending location closure!

Steel workers in the Siegerland: Protest against impending location closure!

Kreuztal-Eichen, Deutschland - In the Siegerland, on December 11, 2024, over 600 Thyssenkrupp Steel employees protested against the planned closure of their production location in Kreuztal-Eichen. The demonstration was an answer to the processes around the company's deficit steel division, which announces massive restructuring. The protesters carried transparent with inscriptions such as "TKS oaks must not give way" or "stop closure".

The closure of the location in Kreuztal-Eichen affects around 600 jobs and is part of a drastic renovation plan that provides for a total of around 5,000 jobs by 2030. This was necessary to secure the competitiveness of the Thyssenkrupp steel division. As rhein-zeitung.de , another work in Kreuztal is not affected by around 400 employees. The IG Metall, which has referred to the plans as a "giant provocation", only demands a negotiation with management when the closure is off the table and can be secured long -term financing.

steel industry in the crisis

Thyssenkrupp Steel, Germany's largest steel manufacturer, is in a precarious location. The restructuring plans stipulate that 6,000 other positions could be affected by outsourcing or sales. IG Metall boss Knut Giesler criticized that the workforce and the support of the population were important, since "at every steel workstation there are further jobs in domestic industry, in retail and craft" (as stern.de note).

The employees request that their jobs be preserved and announced that they continue to protest loudly against the closure in order to secure their existence. The resistance to the decision of the corporate management will probably stop as long as no solutions are presented that protect the jobs in the region.