DUESSELDORF (Reuters) – ThyssenKrupp Chief Executive Martina Merz has defended efforts to spin off the German company’s steel business ahead of a board meeting next week.
“The future lies in the business becoming specialized and managing without the help of the parent company,” Merz was cited as saying by the weekly magazine Der Spiegel.
A supervisory board meeting on March 31 will discuss the issue, which faces resistance from some employees.
Duisburg-headquartered ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is the biggest steel company in Germany, with some 26,000 employees.
(Reporting by Tom Käckenhoff; Writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Mike Harrison)
