Italian stainless steel producer ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni (TK-AST) will extend the temporary shutdown that it had already planned in May due to below-forecast production volumes, the company has stated. The stop will concern the steel mill department and other areas and production lines for the period from May 25 to June 2. The company explained that, even for the stainless steel chain, "the restarting phase of production activities of many companies, after the interruption for the Covid-19 emergency, has just begun" and "is not continuous and regular yet, due to the need to adapt production levels to demand and to new ways of organizing work."
According to union representatives, in May TK-AST will produce about 47,000 mt of finished products, while hot steel production will amount to around 67,000 mt, instead of the 84,000 mt that were forecast in late April.
Meanwhile, its parent company ThyssenKrupp said in a statement that the group's difficult economic situation has been significantly aggravated by the coronavirus emergency. At the end of April, the group, which is still awaiting the proceeds from the sale of its lift division, received a state loan of around €1 billion. ThyssenKrupp CEO Martina Merz said that the restructuring strategies, the cost reduction and, above all, the measures to increase sales that the group had planned to implement in the next two or three years will have to be performed significantly faster due to the Covid-19 pandemic.