Thyssenkrupp workers have opposed the idea of the German industrial group becoming the junior partner in a possible steel joint venture with Tata Steel, group works council chief Wilhelm Segerath told Reuters from Dusseldorf, Germany, on Monday.
Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel have been in discussions since last year to combine their European operations in a joint venture to remove overcapacity from the market and cut costs, and had so far said to be planning a 50-50 venture, the Reuters report said.
Reuters quoted German business daily Handelsblatt reporting on Sunday that Thyssenkrupp aimed to hold less than half of the potential venture so it can deconsolidate the business from its balance sheet.
"I don't believe in a minority stake. We reject that idea," Segerath told Reuters, adding that such a move would make the steel business entirely dependent on a foreign investor whose intentions for jobs and sites were uncertain.
Labour bosses at Thyssenkrupp have long opposed a possible merger of the European steel businesses of the two companies, fearing that such a deal would destroy jobs without making the business more sustainable.
Thyssenkrupp's steel works council chief Guenter Back said last month that finance chief Guido Kerkhoff had said the company would decide by the end of 2016-17, which runs through September, whether to proceed with a merger.
