The almost 20,000 employees of ThyssenKrupp Steel AG are to share in the record earnings of the largest single company in the ThyssenKrupp Group.

Blue- and white-collar workers will receive a special bonus of 1,350 euros with their December salary; apprentices will receive 338 euros.

“These are the first fruits of the earnings- and performance-related bonus system we concluded with the works council in September 2004,” says Dieter Kroll, ThyssenKrupp Steel Human Resources Director. General Works Council Chairman Willi Segerath added: “In the past we were dependent on management’s generosity. Today, there are clear rules under which colleagues profit from their good work. The company’s earnings of 727 million euros last fiscal year are based on the performance of all the company’s employees.”

The bonus system is made up of two components. The earnings-related component is based on the earnings of ThyssenKrupp Steel AG (formerly ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG) and the ROCE (return on capital employed). The performance-related component is based on indicators such as the sickness rate and the number of successful improvement suggestions. All indicators reached their highest ever scores.

The full bonus is payable to full-time employees who worked for ThyssenKrupp Steel AG during the reference period (fiscal year 2004/2005) and who are in the employment of the company at the time of payout. Part-time employees will receive a share of the bonus based on the ratio of their part-time working hours to the collectively agreed working hours.