BERLIN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- German industrial behemoth Thyssenkrupp has promised to ensure that workers would retain their current level of representation after merging its European steel operations with the rival business of Indian Tata Steel, the newspaper Bild reported on Wednesday.
Thyssenkrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger said the merger was necessary to guarantee the jobs of "tens of thousands of German steelworkers" for whom the new corporate structure would provide a "safe home."
Earlier in September, Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel agreed on a widely-publicized merger between their European steel operations, leading to the creation of the second largest steelmaker on the continent with combined annual revenue of 15 billion euros (17.66 billion U.S. dollars). Some 2,000 staff are expected to lose their jobs in Germany alone as a consequence of the merger.
Hiesinger now says German steelworkers would keep their rights "just the way it is today" regardless of the planned joint venture.
Under the current system of "co-determination" in Germany's coal and steel industries, corporate supervisory boards are required by law to be staffed with an equal number of labor and capital representatives.
Ensuring the continuation of this scheme is seen as a potential compromise by management to win the support of Thyssenkrupp staff for the merger. So far, labor representatives are fiercely opposed to the deal and have announced protests.
Hiesinger promised that no more than 2,000 workers would be initially laid off in Germany if the merger was finalized but refused to rule out further job cuts "five or ten years" in the future.
The Thyssenkrupp CEO said that he took the "emotions" of staff seriously, but argued that the post-merger firm would ultimately benefit from savings achieved by shared procurement, research, administration and research units.
