Thyssenkrupp steel woes

The CEO and much of the board left this summer

Thyssenkrupp’s crisis deepens as steel unit’s leadership steps down
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/thyssenkrupp-steel-leadership-steps-down-crisis-intensifies-2024-08-29/
At the heart of the conflict lies the question over how much capacity and jobs must be cut at TKSE to raise profitability - and how much money it needs from its parent company to pay for the restructuring…

“Despite all its commendable efforts, the management of Thyssenkrupp Steel has not been able to successfully respond to the structural challenges of the steel business and its economic difficulties, not only in recent months but for years,” said Siegfried Russwurm, Thyssenkrupp AG’s supervisory board chairman.

He added that the division has spent more than 3 billion euros over the past five years, missed its own targets several times and caused billions of euros in writedowns due to poor investments.

DB2

3 Likes

Meanwhile traditionally steel production uses lots of coal/coke and produces much CO2. Or does Thyssen process scrap iron in electric furnace?

Energy cost has to be critical. And the need to modernize production.

They do both. They are also considering a plant to use hydrogen, but escalating costs are proving a problem (no surprise there).

The federal government as well as the state of North Rhine-Westphalia have committed to provide €2bn for the project. Reportedly, €500m of state subsidies have already been paid. If the project is cancelled, the company would have to pay back these funds.

Last month we discussed the Cleveland-Cliffs project.

Big steelmaker weighs abandoning $500M Biden climate grant
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/13/steelmaker-biden-climate-grant-00179145
In an interview with POLITICO, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the Ohio-based company produces the steel with the lowest carbon emissions in the world. But he said his company cannot persuade buyers, mostly in the automobile sector, to pay the price to cover the costs of producing more environmentally friendly steel…

Goncalves’ words come amid a broader set of headwinds for private investments in low-carbon and clean-energy projects, which have seen several initiatives delayed or scrapped entirely despite the massive federal subsidies

DB2

1 Like