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Amnesty deal for ThyssenKrupp workers

German heavy industry giant ThyssenKrupp, rocked by a slew of corruption scandals, said Tuesday it will not prosecute or fire employees involved in any wrongdoing if they cooperate in uncovering the malpractices.

Amnesty deal for ThyssenKrupp workers
Photo: DPA

“For employees who disclose compliance matters voluntarily, truthfully and fully … and who cooperate unreservedly in investigating them, the executive board promises that it will not assert or enforce damage claims,” the company said in a statement.

“Subject to this condition, the information provided in this connection will also not be used as a reason to unilaterally terminate the employment of the disclosing employee.”

ThyssenKrupp, long regarded as one of the emblems of Germany’s technological prowess, has seen its image tarnished reccently in the wake of a series of corruption allegations, including a price-fixing cartel, luxury trips laid on for journalists and alleged bribery in contracts in eastern Europe and China.

Last month, the group’s supervisory board chief Gerhard Cromme quit over his handling of the scandals as ThyssenKrupp battles to clean up its image.

The industry giant, whose activities range from steel-making to elevators, industrial plant technology, submarines and car parts, said the amnesty to whistleblowers would run until June 15.

And it would not apply to management, it stressed.

“The programme does not apply to the executive board members of ThyssenKrupp, business area management board members, the heads of the operating units, and the managing directors of group companies,” the statement said.

“ThyssenKrupp is in the middle of a major change process,” including an attempt to radically reshape its corporate culture, the company said.

Among the values that it now stood for, “compliance is a must,” it said.

“Overall ThyssenKrupp is making good progress… But despite considerable efforts to communicate a shared understanding of values, there have been a number of serious compliance violations in recent times which have caused huge damage to the group’s image,” the statement complained.

AFP/jlb

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BUSINESS

France’s EDF hails €10billion profit, despite huge UK nuclear charge

French energy giant EDF has unveiled net profit of €10billion and cut its massive debt by increasing nuclear production after problems forced some plants offline.

France's EDF hails €10billion profit, despite huge UK nuclear charge

EDF hailed an “exceptional” year after its loss of €17.9billion in 2022.

Sales slipped 2.6 percent to €139.7billion , but the group managed to slice debt by €10billion euros to €54.4billion.

EDF said however that it had booked a €12.9 billion depreciation linked to difficulties at its Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Britain.

The charge includes €11.2 billion for Hinkley Point assets and €1.7billion at its British subsidiary, EDF Energy, the group explained.

EDF announced last month a fresh delay and additional costs for the giant project hit by repeated cost overruns.

“The year was marked by many events, in particular by the recovery of production and the company’s mobilisation around production recovery,” CEO Luc Remont told reporters.

EDF put its strong showing down to a strong operational performance, notably a significant increase in nuclear generation in France at a time of historically high prices.

That followed a drop in nuclear output in France in 2022. The group had to deal with stress corrosion problems at some reactors while also facing government orders to limit price rises.

The French reactors last year produced around 320.4 TWh, in the upper range of expectations.

Nuclear production had slid back in 2022 to 279 TWh, its lowest level in three decades, because of the corrosion problems and maintenance changes after
the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hinkley Point C is one of a small number of European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) worldwide, an EDF-led design that has been plagued by cost overruns
running into billions of euros and years of construction delays.

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