investors pay billions of Euro for the Elevator division. Their employees, waving to a job guarantee, but in the steel of the loss of thousands of Jobs have been threatened.

the Thyssenkrupp test tower in Rottweil, Germany photo: Michaela Rehle/reuters

BOCHUM taz | With the sale of the Elevator business "Elevator" separates the financially ailing Ruhr-group, Thyssenkrupp of its most profitable business area. For 17.2 billion euros, the elevators will go to a consortium of British investment company Cinven, the US Private Equity Fund Advent and the non-profit RAG-Stiftung. Adopted by the Supervisory Board of Thyssenkrupp on Thursday evening. 1.25 billion euros are to be returned to the then independent Elevator business reinvested. Thyssenkrupp would consider to "Elevator" instead of 100, then 7.3 per cent of the shares.

The Essen-based industrial group with its worldwide 146.000 employees*internal investments in steel plants in Brazil and the USA after the massive fail with high levels of debt. In the balance sheet liabilities of around seven billion euros. This Guesthouse obligations of nine billion.

in addition, large parts of Thyssenkrupp's how the car stick mobile or of the steel supply in a time of crisis. A long-planned merger with the Indian steel giant, Tata had said the EU Commission in June 2019 due to antitrust concerns.

The market price of the Essenes, therefore, is for years on descent. At the beginning of September Thyssenkrupp was therefore flown from the Dax share index of the 30 largest German companies. At the end of September, CEO Guido Kerkhoff had to go.

the successor to the former Supervisory Board head of Martina Merz was. The exchange from the top of the control panel to the Board is considered to be completely unusual – and highlights the problems of the former icon of the Ruhr industry, to the ever adequately fill.

The 56-year-old Manager, Merz said, the "Elevator"-billion should be largely "remain in business". The goal is "to reduce their indebtedness to Thyssenkrupp, as far as possible and invest at the same time useful in the development of the company".

How dangerous is the situation in the rest of the group is, the stock market value On Thursday, Thyssenkrupp came in front of the "Elevator"-sale only on a market capitalization of 5.7 billion euros. The Elevator division alone was, without a potential loss-maker, such as the Automotive, steel, or the war, shipbuilding, however, three Times as much value.

Over the years, around 53,000 jobs in the Elevator are secured against division. The IG Metall was able to force the bidder consortium comprising Cinven, Advent and RAG-Stiftung, the need to Finance the long-term long-term costs of the coal industry, not only a guarantee of Employment of seven years and one month. The buyers have promised not to break up "Elevator" and to keep the group headquarters in Germany. All collective bargaining agreements, the pension and the far-reaching Montan-codetermination have more stock.

"Neither in this level of detail even with such a term there has been similar agreements, if a company was sold to a Private Equity consortium," said therefore, the district head of IG Metall in North Rhine-Westphalia, Knut Giesler.

thanks to co-determination the trade Union is at Thyssenkrupp traditionally strong, Giesler is the Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the "Elevator" – and his predecessor as NRW-land-in-chief of IG Metall, Oliver Burkhard, is today chief of staff of the group as a whole.

In the steel sector, job destruction threatens it. In mid-February, the Executive Board of Thyssenkrupp Steel, has announced the elimination of 2,800 Jobs. The heavy plate mill in Duisburg-Hüttenheim is until June for sale. Is found, until then, not interested, is to be closed, the site with 800 employees*on the inside. "The steel," says a trade unionist, therefore, already now, "the next site".