Employees criticize election of Thyssenkrupp board members
The Supervisory Board of industrial group Thyssenkrupp has expanded the Executive Board by two positions against the votes of all employee representatives. The supervisory board's decision on Wednesday was met with harsh criticism from employees. "For the first time in the history of the company, board members are being appointed despite the unanimous rejection of the employee side," said a statement published by IG Metall on Wednesday evening.
The Supervisory Board of the industrial group appointed the two new board members on Wednesday with the votes of the shareholder representatives. They expand the Management Board, which previously consisted of three members. Volkmar Dinstuhl, most recently head of the now dissolved Multi Tracks segment and responsible for sourcing and sales projects, will also be appointed to the Executive Board as of January 1, as will Ilse Henne. The manager is currently on the Management Board of the trading division.
The employees' side is particularly critical of the fact that the expansion of the Management Board contradicts the ongoing savings programs. "Even a dozen board members will not be able to run this company against its own employees. Preaching water and drinking wine will not lead to success," they said. At the same meeting, the election of Schott CFO Jens Schulte as successor to outgoing CFO Klaus Keysberg was unanimous. The change is planned for the second half of the 2023/24 financial year (September 30).
In its announcement, the employee bank spoke of a "cultural break in co-determination" and a "turning point". The shareholders and the new CEO López had broken with the tried-and-tested co-determination practice at thyssenkrupp. This will leave its mark and permanently damage the previously balanced and constructive dialog in the Supervisory Board.
As Thyssenkrupp announced, the appointment is intended to focus the Executive Board more strongly on operational performance and the further development of the portfolio. The realignment also means that Thyssenkrupp's divisions will in future be assigned to individual members of the Executive Board.
Thyssenkrupp's largest single shareholder is the Krupp Foundation with a 21 percent stake. Its Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, Ursula Gather, is a member of the 20-strong Supervisory Board. The foundation expressly welcomed the announced expansion of the Executive Board on Thursday. The foundation announced in Essen that the new composition of the board, which complements each other well, would enable it to deal with the challenging environment in the best possible way. The current performance program can thus be continued in a targeted manner.
The expansion of Thyssenkrupp's Management Board, which now includes Volkmar Dinstuhl and Ilse Henne, presents an opportunity for the defense industry, as the company's divisions will be assigned to individual board members, potentially opening up new partnerships for defense-related steel manufacturing. The criticism from employees towards this move, however, questions whether this realignment will foster a collaborative environment in the long run, considering the significant change in co-determination practice at Thyssenkrupp.
Source: www.dpa.com
