thyssenkrupp Cuts May Threaten 1,200 Skilled Steel Jobs

German steelmaker thyssenkrupp is extending production cuts at its French site, placing approximately 1,200 skilled jobs at risk as import pressures force the company to reduce operations.

The company's Isbergues facility in Northern France will face total closure from June to September, extending cutbacks that began in January when the site moved to half capacity. The decision reflects mounting workforce challenges across European steel production as cheaper Asian imports undercut domestic manufacturing.

thyssenkrupp is an international industrial and technology group. The company's Steel Europe division implements innovations in steel for various applications, whilst thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel produces grain-oriented electrical steel, a vital material for transmitting electricity from power plants to households.

The workforce implications extend beyond immediate job security. Grain-oriented electrical steel requires specialist manufacturing expertise, meaning the skilled workforce at sites in Gelsenkirchen and Isbergues represents years of accumulated knowledge in a strategically important sector.

European production facilities employ workers with technical capabilities that could prove difficult to rebuild if lost to prolonged shutdowns.

Workforce faces extended uncertainty

Since January, the Isbergues site has operated at half capacity due to reduced demand for European-made steel. In December 2025, thyssenkrupp announced it would temporarily shut down production of electrical steel in Europe, which is used in wind turbines and power grids, because imports from Asia were cheaper and increasingly purchased for manufacturing.

"Grain-oriented electrical steel is indispensable for Europe's energy infrastructure and the energy transition," TKSE CEO Marie Jaroni says in a company statement. "We are strongly committed to maintaining production in Europe and are currently working to ensure effective market protection in order to guarantee fair competition for this strategically important product."

The initial shutdown was planned for at least four months. However, continued import pressures have forced the company to extend cuts, creating prolonged uncertainty for the workforce.

Skills retention becomes critical concern

The extended closure announcement highlights the challenge of retaining specialist talent during market disruption. Angelo di Martino, CEO of thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel, outlined the workforce dimension of the crisis.

"In view of the ruinous flood of imports in the market for grain-oriented electrical steel, we see no alternative but to temporarily shut down our French site once again," says Angelo. "This measure is necessary to stabilise our company amid further deterioration in order intake. We are faced with import prices that in some cases lie well below production costs in the EU. We therefore urgently need appropriate trade protection to establish fair competitive conditions for this strategically important product.

"This also concerns around 1,200 skilled jobs, which we aim to safeguard at our sites in Gelsenkirchen and Isbergues. We are engaged in intensive and constructive dialogue with the European Commission and hope for the prompt introduction of effective safeguards. Currently, there is no effective protection. At the same time, we are doing everything within our control to strengthen our competitiveness."

The 1,200 workers represent specialist expertise in producing materials crucial for energy-efficient transformers and large, high-performance generators. Their skills have been developed over years within a niche manufacturing sector that has limited alternative employment opportunities in the region.