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Thousands of steel workers protest against German job cuts

Thousands of Thyssenkrupp steel workers in Germany on Tuesday protested against planned job cuts, accusing bosses at the struggling conglomerate of mismanagement after a failed merger bid with Tata steel.

Published: 3 December 2019 16:58 CET

Thousands of steel workers protest against German job cuts

Employees demonstrate in Duisburg. Photo: DPA

Germany's powerful IG Metall union said 6,000 workers gathered at Thyssenkrupp's Steel Europe headquarters in Duisburg to vent their anger.

The group, which makes products from raw steel to submarines and car parts, has said it intends to axe at least 6,000 jobs globally, including 2,000 in the troubled steel division.

Armed with flares, flags and whistles in IG Metall's red-and-white colours, employees urged Thyssenkrupp to preserve jobs and invest more to give the steel unit a better chance in a challenging environment.

“We need fresh money. All we've had these past few years is cost-cutting programmes,” steelworker Joerg Jakob told DPA news agency at the demo.

In a statement, Thyssenkrupp said it would flesh out its plan for the steel unit in coming weeks and has already committed to ploughing 570 million euros ($630 million) a year into the division.

But labour representatives are demanding nearly three times as much.

READ ALSO: Working in Germany: Should you join a trade union?

Employees in Duisburg. Photo: DPA

“Incompetent managers have run this company into the ground,” Tekin Nasikkol, head of Thyssenkrupp's Steel Europe works council, told DPA.

Thyssenkrupp hit back, saying it believed “in the future of steel” and wanted to make its steel business competitive in the long run.

The European Commission's decision last June to block the merger with India's Tata Steel however meant that “far-reaching measures” were necessary to turn around the division.

“But the financial resources we make available must be commensurate with the expected returns,” it stressed, adding that the company's room to manoeuvre was “limited”.

Hit with the Tata setback, a damaging internal power struggle and a slowing global economy, Thyssenkrupp booked a net loss of €304 million in the year to September.

To help fund a painful restructuring, Thyssenkrupp is planning a sale or a stock market flotation of its highly profitable elevators arm.

And it has not ruled out further job losses among the group's 160,000 employees.

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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