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Salzgitter Takes Full Control of HKM and Plans Deep Job Cuts

The company says it will refit the Duisburg plant with an electric‑arc furnace supported by public funds to preserve a smaller operating core.

Overview

  • On Thursday Salzgitter signed contracts to make Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann a 100% subsidiary and announced a plan to reduce the workforce from about 3,000 to roughly 1,000 by the end of 2028.
  • Salzgitter will cut HKM’s crude‑steel output from about four million tonnes a year to around two million tonnes by end‑2028 and agreed that HKM will stop supplying Thyssenkrupp Steel by the end of 2028.
  • The company plans to replace aging blast furnaces with an electric‑arc furnace and has secured roughly €200 million in federal and North Rhine‑Westphalia support for the conversion.
  • Financial terms of the takeover are confidential but parties agreed that the previous owners contributed transition funds to help finance the technical conversion and social measures.
  • The deal is part of broader sector reshaping with Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Vallourec exiting the joint venture and TKSE pursuing a larger restructuring that includes thousands of job actions through 2030, a shift that will reshape supply and employment in the region.