Overview
- Thyssenkrupp Steel will fully shut its Gelsenkirchen (Germany) and Isbergues (France) electrical‑steel works from mid‑December until the end of the year.
- Isbergues is slated to restart in January at roughly 50% capacity for at least four months, while no post‑shutdown increase was announced for Gelsenkirchen.
- The company says about 1,200 qualified positions at the two sites are endangered as orders have slumped.
- Management attributes the cuts to low‑priced imports that have tripled since 2022 and rose another ~50% in 2025, leaving European plants severely underused.
- Thyssenkrupp is pressing for swift EU market‑protection measures, with German media reporting governments are seeking a safeguard probe that could lead to quotas or tariffs, as the wider steel division pursues a potential sale and deep job reductions.