Germany's largest steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG is planning to temporarily halt the smallest of its four blast furnaces at its Duisburg plant in order to reduce production further given the weak demand situation.
The furnace in question, which has a daily capacity of 4,500 mt of pig iron, will be shut down indefinitely in mid-March. The restart date of the blast furnace has not been decided yet, while the company has stated that the shutdown will not result in any layoffs.
ThyssenKrupp has cut production and reduced working shifts in response to the tumble of its orders due to the global economic downturn. Workers at the Duisburg plant that have been affected by reduced shifts will receive compensation for lost hours; however, they will not be made permanently redundant. Workers will be entitled to compensation commensurate to 50 percent to 70 percent of their salary loss stemming from reduced hours. The compensation will be funded by a government-mandated insurance program.
The plant's remaining three operating blast furnaces have a combined daily capacity of 27,500 mt pig iron.
ThyssenKrupp AG has a total worldwide workforce of 40,000, half of which work at seven plants in Germany. At the Duisburg plant alone, the company currently employs 14,000 workers.