Thyssenkrupp wanted to restructure itself with the billions of euros from the sale of the elevator division – but the corona crisis forces CEO Martina Merz to reassess the strategy.
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“In the medium term, the corona-related liquidity outflows are likely to result in the financial leeway from the sale of the elevator business being far less than originally assumed,” quotes the Handelsblatt from a letter from the Executive Board to the employees last Thursday, the newspaper is present. “We are preparing solutions for this.”
The company’s press department was unavailable for comment on Sunday.
Merz originally wanted to debt and restructure the Ruhr group with the expected income of 17.2 billion euros. But because demand has plummeted in numerous business areas in recent weeks, thyssenkrupp expects capital outflows to be significantly higher this year than initially forecast. The forecast for the current year, which had provided for a negative cash flow before sales and acquisitions of well over a billion euros, was already cashed in March due to the corona crisis. A few days ago, thyssenkrupp secured a loan of over a billion euros from the State Reconstruction Loan Corporation (KfW) to bridge liquidity bottlenecks until the elevator deal was concluded.
This month Merz wants to flesh out its strategy after the sale of the elevator division has been completed, the newspaper writes. So far, the plan provides for greater independence for the remaining businesses and the reduction of at least 6,000 jobs. “In order to further develop the strategy and, above all, to implement it in practice, we will continue to analyze and evaluate the effects of the Corona crisis on an ongoing basis and update our plans accordingly,” the Handelsblatt continues to quote from the employee letter.
DJG / cln
Dow Jones Newswires
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