In a decisive response to mounting pressure from overseas competitors, industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp has announced a significant operational halt. The company will completely suspend electrical steel production at its Isbergues facility in France for a four-month period, from June to September 2026. This move underscores the severe challenges facing Europe’s steel industry and places additional strain on the firm’s already beleaguered share price.
Share Price Nears Annual Low Following Announcement
The market reaction to the production pause was swift and negative. Thyssenkrupp shares closed Thursday’s session at 7.95 euros, extending losses from the previous day. This decline is part of a pronounced downward trend, with the stock having shed 26.10 percent of its value over the past 30 trading days. The current share price is now perilously close to its 52-week low of 7.72 euros, reflecting deep investor concern over the sector’s outlook.
Asian Imports Flood the EU Market
The primary driver for this drastic measure is a dramatic surge in steel imports from Asia into the European Union. Company data indicates these imports have tripled since 2022 and now account for more than half of the total EU market volume. Thyssenkrupp’s CEO, Angelo Di Martino, has sharply criticized what he terms a ruinous flood of imports, noting that foreign competitors are often pricing their steel significantly below European production costs.
This aggressive price undercutting has made operations unsustainable. The Isbergues plant, which had been running at only 50 percent capacity since January, will now be taken entirely offline. The situation is particularly ironic given the product involved: grain-oriented electrical steel, which is essential for manufacturing transformers and wind turbines. Global demand for this material is projected to triple by 2050, yet European producers are currently unable to capitalize on this growth potential due to the distorted market.
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Employment and Broader Structural Risks
The temporary shutdown directly affects 600 employees at the French site. However, the threat is broader, with approximately 1,200 jobs considered at risk across the Isbergues and Gelsenkirchen locations as competitiveness in the electrical steel segment rapidly deteriorates.
The company’s future in this sector now heavily depends on proposed European trade defenses. Thyssenkrupp is engaged in intensive discussions with the EU Commission, advocating for a central rescue measure: the doubling of existing steel tariffs. A crucial vote on this trade policy instrument in the EU Parliament is scheduled before the end of June 2026.
Industry observers warn that without the timely implementation of these protective measures, the electrical steel operations in Germany and France face a permanent structural breakdown. This would occur despite the fundamentally positive demand trends driven by the global energy transition, leaving a strategic European industrial capability in jeopardy.
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