The Operational Excellence Tools Series | #18: Thyssenkrupp – The “Rebirth” Story Amid the Green Wave.

Thyssenkrupp is cutting waste, investing in green steel, and radically restructuring—and what the story teaches us about Operational Excellence in the green age.

Welcome to the unique weekend article for the Loyal Fan subscribers-only edition.

This is the #18 article of The Operational Excellence Tools Series.

Outlines and Key Takeaways

Part 1 – Thyssenkrupp and the Green Era Turning Point

Part 2 – OPEX Lens: From VSM to Balanced Scorecard

Part 3 – Operational Excellence and Lessons from the Story of Rebirth

Part 1 – Thyssenkrupp and the Green Era Turning Point

If you’ve ever heard of Thyssenkrupp, you probably think immediately of giant steel blast furnaces and the iconic image of German industry. But in 2025, the group is facing a turning point—not just to produce “more”, but to produce greener, leaner, and more sustainable steel (Financial Times).

Under the leadership of CEO Miguel López, whose contract was just extended for another five years, Thyssenkrupp has committed to a bold restructuring plan: cutting up to 11,000 jobs, roughly 40% of its steel workforce, while closing down several underperforming plants (Reuters, Financial Times). Instead of merely downsizing, the company is making heavy investments in green steel technologies, turning clean energy into a survival key for the future (Financial Times).

The challenges are immense. First, a sluggish global steel market, with volatile prices and weakening demand. Next, the pressure from unions and politics, since every job cut affects thousands of families. And above all, the demand for carbon neutrality—a non-negotiable requirement to maintain leadership in Europe (Financial Times).

To secure capital and ease financial strain, Thyssenkrupp is negotiating for EP Corporate Group—a major shareholder—to raise its stake in the steel division from 20% to 50% (Financial Times). At the same time, the company has launched Decarbon Technologies, dedicated to developing emission-reduction solutions, and has set a new record for green technology patents filed (Financial Times).

Beyond steel, Thyssenkrupp is also expanding into defense. Its subsidiary Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems aims to triple its customer base before a planned IPO at the end of 2025, positioning itself as a “lifeline” to balance risks from the steel sector (Financial Times).

From the outside, this is not just another “cut to survive” restructuring. It is a full-scale rebirth: eliminating what is outdated, investing in what is new, and redefining the strength of a long-standing industrial icon. In other words, Thyssenkrupp is rewriting its own story by mapping the entire value chain, pinpointing sources of waste, and rebuilding with a commitment to being leaner and greener—a powerful case study of Operational Excellence in the face of global disruption.