September 08, 2008
ThyssenKrupp Acciai to support employees in Turin
Dr Harald Espenhahn management board chairman of ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni recently announced that ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni is undertaking a number of measures to support employees affected by the relocation of production from Turin to Terni. He said our reasons for closing the Turin site are understandable and have been accepted by both government and unions. He added that “Management and employee representatives agreed on a corresponding program at a round table meeting instigated by the Italian Ministry of Industry and Economics. There are acceptable solutions for all employees.”
Dr Espenhahn said “This step is unavoidable for economic reasons and with a view to the future of the company as a whole. We want to create production and cost structures similar to those of our best competitors. Owing to the establishment of new capacities especially in China and an increase in imports from Asia already clearly in evidence, European producers are coming under enormous pressure.”
Dr Espenhahn said “The purpose of the investments we have made and those still underway is to expand the integrated stainless mill in Terni into an internationally competitive site. This successful approach is being systematically continued. ThyssenKrupp Stainless has approved additional investment funds, which will be used in part to build a new EUR 30 million continuous caster at the Terni site. It is scheduled to start production in late 2008 and will replace the previous CSP line.
The extensive investments will create the conditions at ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni for the highest levels of steel quality, optimized processing capabilities and an extended product range. The innovative VOD technology will allow ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni to expand its ferritic steel product portfolio to include special grades, which can replace classic chromium nickel steels in some areas of application. In the medium term, melting capacities will rise to around 1.7 million tonnes. The various measures will increase stainless production in Terni only slightly from roughly 600,000 at present to more than 700,000 tonnes of cold rolled per year in the future.
At the beginning of June 2007 ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni announced its intention to relocate production capacities step by step from Turin to Terni to improve its competitiveness. Under current plans, the site will be closed by the end of fiscal 2007-2008. After the phasing out of production, the equipment in Turin will be completely dismantled and some items will be rebuilt in Terni. The relocation of cold rolled production from Turin to Terni will further optimize ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni’s competitiveness. The roughly 400 employees in Turin have been offered jobs within the AST group. Older employees have the opportunity to take early retirement under statutory regulations. A further agreement has now been reached to provide assistance with removal costs for Turin based employees moving to Terni. The other Turin employees can attend training programs which will make it easier for them to find alternative employment. Moreover, employees of ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni are to be given
preferential treatment when new businesses are set up on the former Turin site in the future.
ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Stainless is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of stainless steel flat products. As well as the service centers of Terninox, ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni has manufacturing subsidiaries in Tubificio di Terni, Società delle Fucine and ThyssenKrupp Titanium. It employs roughly 3,000 people in Terni.
