By Adam Whittaker

Thyssenkrupp plans to shutter some electrical steel plants and cut production, as a response to imports that it says are undermining the European steel sector.

The German industrial company's steel arm said Thursday that from mid-December plants in Gelsenkirchen in Germany and Isbergues in France would be closed until the end of the year. Its Isbergues site will then operate at 50% of its total capacity for at least four months beginning in January.

Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel said up to 1,200 jobs in Germany and France are at risk if greater protections for European-produced steel aren't put in place.

The move to reduce operations comes as Europe's steel producers are being squeezed by cheap imports, especially from China, as well as by high energy costs and President Trump's trade tariffs on exports to the U.S.

Thyssenkrupp said the measures are in response to cheap imports that have destabilized the market for European steel. The company cited low-priced imports from Asia as a particular problem.

In October, European Union authorities said that overcapacity was harming the bloc's steel sector, and that it planned a tariff on steel imports above a certain quota. Imports above that quota would face a 50% levy, which is double what the bloc currently charges.

The plans are still under consideration and would require approval from the European Parliament and the council to move forward.

Electrical steel is a core component in the power grid and transmits electricity from power plants to households.

Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 11, 2025 06:42 ET (11:42 GMT)

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