ThyssenKrupp Schulte to close seven sites: sources

ThyssenKrupp Schulte will close seven sites as part of its restructuring drive, market sources told Argus today.

The company will close stockholding warehouses in Braunschweig, Rheine, Munich, Nuremberg, Freiberg, Mannheim and Frankfurt, according to multiple market sources.

Last month the company said it would be closing sites and cutting around 450 jobs, but did not reveal which sites would be affected.

"Fundamental structural adjustments are necessary to better respond to market changes in the future", the company said when it announced the restructuring, citing declining materials demand and increasing demand for materials-related services. All the impacted locations are stockholding sites and do not provide additional processing.

ThyssenKrupp Schulte is part of ThyssenKrupp Materials Services and distributes stainless, carbon and non-ferrous metals from around 40 locations.

A ThyssenKrupp Materials Services spokesperson said it could not comment on the affected locations, as "discussions with the respective co-determination bodies have only just begun and the details of the transformation are the subject of these discussions".

"At ThyssenKrupp Schulte we are aiming to transform the business model in order to increase the company's profitability and enable Schulte to respond even better to changing customer needs," the spokesperson added.

By Colin Richardson