PRESS STATEMENT IG Metall on the joint statement by the shareholder representatives on the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp AG

Regarding the joint statement issued today by the shareholder representatives on the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp AG, Jürgen Kerner, Second Chairman of IG Metall and Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp AG, states:

“We firmly reject the accusations and insinuations made by the shareholder representatives. The statement is an obvious attempt to reverse cause and effect and to shirk responsibility. This is cheap and tasteless. It is not the person who cries ‘fire’ who is responsible for the fire, but the one who starts it.

It is outrageous to conjure up “dangers to the safety of people and facilities.” Anyone who accuses their own workforce of such conduct is acting completely irresponsibly. It is telling when the owners portray their own employees as potential attackers.

The truth is: The employees are deeply unsettled. However, the sole cause of this is the reckless, non-transparent, and unprofessional conduct of Mr. Lopez and Mr. Russwurm. It was Mr. Lopez, with his public follow-up attacks one day after the thyssenkrupp Steel Supervisory Board meeting, who reignited the employees’ fears. It was Mr. Russwurm who, with his double votes, issued blank checks to Mr. Lopez and thereby terminated a trusting collaboration with the employee side.

The employee representatives have never questioned the need for restructuring. On the contrary, it was we who called for an IDW6 expert opinion months ago—a request that Messrs. Russwurm and Lopez rejected for months. The steel division and the parent company have been locked in a weeks-long struggle over short- and medium-term financing, so far without a resolution. However, the restructuring itself can only be discussed in detail once the financing has been clarified.

There was no communication with the employee representatives on the Supervisory Board prior to the statement released this afternoon. I therefore note that the employer representatives are prioritizing external communication over internal dialogue. I call on the shareholder representatives to provide clarity and a clear path forward, rather than continuing to throw up smoke screens.”