Thyssenkrupp labour leader demands clarity from Kretinsky on steel JV plans

FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Workers at Thyssenkrupp's steel unit are demanding clarity from co-owner Daniel Kretinsky over his strategy for the division, a leading labour representative said, adding the billionaire's failure to respond did not bode well for future cooperation.

"I am very open with regard to the question of investors," said Knut Giesler, who heads the IG Metall union in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Thyssenkrupp is based.

"But I am opposed if it is unclear what the objective is," Giesler, who also serves as the deputy chairman of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe's (TKSE) supervisory board, told Reuters.

Kretinsky earlier this year acquired a 20% stake in TKSE from Thyssenkrupp, with talks to sell him a further 30% in the business ongoing, but there have been questions over whether a joint venture makes strategic sense.

Unions are wary of Thyssenkrupp's long-standing efforts to sell TKSE, which is suffering from high costs and cheap Asian imports and last month announced plans to shed 11,000 jobs, or around 40%, of its staff via cuts, divestments or outsourcing.

"Three months ago, we sent Mr Kretinsky a questionnaire that's several pages long," Giesler said. "He has not responded. That doesn't inspire confidence that a joint venture with Mr. Kretinsky is really a good idea."

Giesler's comments reflect steel workers' scepticism over Kretinsky's strategic objectives and whether he is committed to bear financial responsibility for the business in a 50:50 joint venture.

Meantime, Kretinsky has hailed the partnership, saying it merged the energy expertise of his holding EPCG - through which he bought the stake - with Thyssenkrupp's power-hungry steelmaking business.

Talks between Thyssenkrupp and Kretinsky now depend on a mid-term business plan that is currently being developed and is expected early in 2025.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Tom Kaeckenhoff. Editing by Mark Potter)