Severance Pay at Salzgitter & HKM: Your Rights

Job cuts at Salzgitter / HKM: current situation

In early July 2026, it became known: Salzgitter AG is taking over the Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH (HKM) in Duisburg completely. The corresponding agreements with the previous co-owners thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Vallourec were signed (Handelsblatt, 9 July 2026; ad-hoc-news).

With the restructuring, around 2,000 of the current roughly 3,000 jobs at HKM in Duisburg will go by the end of 2028. This is the announced target figure for the group's restructuring, not job cuts already carried out.

Important for context: the quantified job cuts affect the HKM in Duisburg. According to the current state of affairs, no comparable job cuts have been announced for Salzgitter's core workforce at the Lower Saxony sites (e.g. Salzgitter Flachstahl).

The figures at a glance

• Around 2,000 of 3,000 jobs at HKM in Duisburg will go by the end of 2028 (announced).
• Complete takeover by Salzgitter AG from thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Vallourec (early July 2026).
• Green steel: replacement of blast furnaces with an electric arc furnace.
• Production: crude steel in Duisburg falls from around 5 to around 2 million tonnes per year (furnace capacity up to 2.5 million tonnes).

Change of operations, social compensation plan and compensation for disadvantages

A restructuring of this scale generally counts as a change of operations (Betriebsänderung). In that case, the employer must attempt a reconciliation of interests (Interessenausgleich) with the works council and draw up a social compensation plan (Sozialplan) (§§ 111, 112 BetrVG). If necessary, a social compensation plan can be enforced via the conciliation committee (Einigungsstelle) and is therefore directly enforceable (§ 112 para. 4 BetrVG). Separate from this is compensation for disadvantages under § 113 BetrVG: it is tied to the reconciliation of interests, not to the social compensation plan, and comes into consideration if the employer deviates from a planned measure without having made a sufficient attempt at a reconciliation of interests. At a steel plant with a strong works council and collective bargaining coverage, these are significant levers.

Offer or transfer company?

Before you accept a termination agreement or transfer offer, we typically check:

• Has the severance pay been calculated correctly (gross salary, years of service, supplements)?
• Are garden leave, remaining holiday, and a qualified reference cleanly regulated?
• How does accepting it affect your unemployment benefit, a benefit suspension period (§ 159 SGB III) and, separately, suspension of the claim (§ 158 SGB III)?
• Is a transfer company the better option compared to an immediate termination agreement?
• How does the one-fifth rule apply (§ 34 EStG, since 1 January 2025 only via the tax assessment; a concentration of income is required)?

If you are dismissed

If the employer issues a dismissal for operational reasons, the 3-week deadline under § 4 KSchG runs from the date the dismissal is received. If you miss it, you generally lose the chance to bring an unfair dismissal claim. There is no automatic right to severance pay in this context; severance pay is usually the result of the social compensation plan or a court settlement. At a large, collectively bargained company with a works council, the prospects of success for a claim are generally good.

How we work at Team Abfindung

1. Initial consultation at no upfront cost: we review your offer or your dismissal.
2. Engagement: litigation funding with no advance payment.
3. Negotiation through our partner law firm MK Law.
4. Court claim if necessary at the Duisburg Labour Court or the competent court.
5. Settlement or judgment, often severance pay at the conciliation hearing (Gütetermin).

Please note: Team Abfindung is an independent service provider and has no business relationship with Salzgitter AG or Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH; mentioning these companies serves solely to inform affected employees.