Thyssenkrupp works council says steel management crisis puts sale at risk By Reuters

FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) – Thyssenkrupp’s ( ETR: ) planned sale of its steel business is at risk due to uncertainty following a management crisis at the unit, the head of the German conglomerate’s works council said on Friday.

“Uncertainty among the workforce is at an all-time high. Fears about the future of employees and the company can be felt everywhere,” said Tekin Nasikkol, who also sits on Thyssenkrupp’s 20-seat supervisory board.

His comments come after Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) said late on Thursday that its chairman, chief executive and five other members of the supervisory and management board would leave, reflecting a deepening dispute over the steel unit’s future.

Shares in Thyssenkrupp were flat at 0834 GMT, after earlier falling 1.8 percent.

At the heart of the conflict is the question of how deep a planned restructuring of TKSE should be and how much money it needs before a partial sale to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

Kretinsky recently bought a 20 percent stake in TKSE and there are concerns about what the current crisis means for ongoing talks to buy another 30 percent from Thyssenkrupp, according to people familiar with the matter.

Labor representatives on Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board have called for an extraordinary board meeting to discuss the current crisis, a spokesman for the IG Metall union said.

EPCG, the vehicle through which Kretinsky closed the deal, declined to comment.

The Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach foundation, Thyssenkrupp’s main shareholder with a 21 percent stake, declined to comment.