German Steel Output Plunges to 16-Year Low as 10,000 Workers Rally for Policy Shift
13.06.2026 - 06:24:02 | boerse-global.de
Germany’s steel industry produced just 34.1 million tonnes of crude steel in 2025 — the lowest annual figure since the crisis year of 2009. The slump, driven by a stagnant economy, steep US tariffs, and cheap Asian imports, has ignited widespread anger among workers. On Friday, roughly 10,000 employees from the sector took to the streets in Berlin and Völklingen to demand more reliable political support for decarbonisation and job preservation.
The protests were coordinated by the IG Metall union. In the capital, around 1,700 demonstrators from about 40 companies assembled, according to union figures, while police placed the number at 900. Far larger was the rally in Völklingen, Saarland, where police counted roughly 8,500 participants and other sources reported up to 12,000. Workers from Saarstahl and Dillinger Hütte formed the core of the crowd. Left Party chairwoman Ines Schwerdtner and Green Party leader Felix Banaszak attended in solidarity. “The steel industry is systemically important,” Schwerdtner stressed.
Job losses are already looming. Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe plans to cut approximately 11,000 positions. Salzgitter and Saarstahl are pursuing “green steel” production, but ArcelorMittal halted similar projects last year. IG Metall deputy chair Jürgen Kerner warned that any weakening of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), whose revision is scheduled for July, would undermine planning security. “Changing the rules could cost tens of thousands of jobs,” he said. Kerner also criticised the current industrial electricity price as too low and too short-term.
Saarland’s minister-president Anke Rehlinger sent a letter to Chancellor Friedrich Merz urging him not to abandon previously agreed climate targets. She pointed to 2.6 billion euros in subsidies already approved in 2023. “Pioneers of the transformation must not be punished,” Rehlinger wrote. Stefan Rauber, CEO of the Saarland steel holding company, echoed the call for stable political guardrails, insisting that only clear framework conditions would allow the sector to continue its decarbonisation path.
