Industrial group ThyssenKrupp will reduce working hours in its steel division, in a move which could affect up to 20,000 employees, the company said on Dec. 19.
The measures covered shorter work hours in Germany starting in February. Plans would be reviewed monthly and the deal was to run until September.
ThyssenKrupp's steel activities, which employ almost 41,000 workers, have slumped along with a downturn in the automobile sector, which accounts for roughly one third of all production.
The company had already said it would have to cut output as a result of sharp declines in demand.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
