Thyssenkrupp's deputy chairman votes against the extension of CEO contract due to 'fundamental distrust'
T hyssenkrupp’s deputy chairman, who sold a stake in the steel unit to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, will vote against the extension of Miguel Lopez’s contract at a board of directors meeting on Friday. He said that Lopez had failed to deliver the turnaround promised of the steel division.
Juergen Kerner's comments, made by one of Germany's leading labour representatives, are a significant escalation of the conflict between workers and management over the restructuring of the German conglomerate, particularly its steel division which the group had been trying to divest from for years.
In Germany, where corporate culture is based on the consensus of powerful unions and shareholder representatives, it's also rare to see CEOs opposing each other at the highest boardroom levels.
Thyssenkrupp made reference to comments earlier by Lopez, who said that restructuring the steel business of the group was a priority.
Sources said last week that the supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp will meet on Friday to vote for a planned spinoff of its warships division TKMS, as well as a contract renewal for Lopez, who has been in charge since two years ago.
Kerner warned that there would be a massive backlash if Lopez’s contract extension was approved against the wishes of workers representatives. This can only occur if former Siemens manager Siegfried Russell casts a deciding vote.
Kerner, the deputy chief of Germany’s largest union IG Metall who sits also on the Supervisory Boards of Siemens, Siemens Energy, and Traton said that while he had established a good working relationship with Lopez, "we have now a fundamental distrust on both sides".
He said that workers would use all means available to them, including strikes, unless Thyssenkrupp could come up with a convincing plan for the future of the steel division, and adequate funding, which were his red lines.
Kerner stated that Kretinsky has refused to speak with his employees about his vision of the future for TKSE. He acquired a 20 percent stake in TKSE a year ago and is reportedly looking to increase his stake to 50 percent. Kerner argues that Kretinsky's reluctance to engage with employees about his vision for the company's future makes him a bad partner.
"We have asked Mr Kretinsky to talk, verbally, in writing and through WhatsApp. Kerner stated that they always get a friendly response that he'd like to speak to us when a convenient time comes up, but he can't make a public statement at the moment.
This is unacceptable to me.
No immediate comment was made by a spokesperson for Kretinsky’s EP Group. Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff and Miranda Murray, Editing and Louise Heavens by Miranda Murray
(source: Reuters)
