Thyssenkrupp materials trading unit head Stillger steps down

DUESSELDORF/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp said on Tuesday Martin Stillger, head of its materials services trading unit, would step down at the end of May, drawing further union criticism over management decisions pushed through despite the opposition of workers.

Thyssenkrupp Materials Services accounted for more than a third of the group's total revenue in the 2022/23 fiscal year with sales of 13.6 billion euros ($14.8 billion).

Thyssenkrupp said Stillger's resignation came of his own volition after little more than two years in the role, and a decision on his successor would be made in the near term.

Members of Germany's biggest union, IG Metall, disagreed.

"We are assuming a personnel change that was obviously forced by group CEO Miguel Lopez," said Ingo Kloetzer of IG Metall, who is also deputy chairman of Materials Services' supervisory board.

"We very much regret Martin Stillger's decision and would like to thank him sincerely for his many years of service, his great commitment and his numerous contributions to Materials Services," Klaus Keysberg, Thyssenkrupp's finance chief and chairman of Materials Services' supervisory board, said.

Spokespeople for Thyssenkrupp and Thyssenkrupp Materials Services declined to comment on the IG Metall comments.

IG Metall is already in conflict with Thyssenkrupp CEO Lopez and Supervisory Board Chairman Siegfried Russwurm over recent decisions made despite labour opposition.

"Materials Services is successful. From a business perspective, there is no reason for a separation (from Stillger)," Kloetzer said. "Group CEO Lopez obviously has expectations that cannot be fulfilled in the current market situation."

Thyssenkrupp's supervisory board recently approved the sale of 20% in Thyssenkrupp's steel division to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky despite labour representatives voting against the move.

That decision was pushed through with Chairman Russwurm's vote counting twice in a stalemate on the 20-member board, something Kloetzer feared would be repeated in Materials Services board's efforts to find a successor for Stillger.

($1 = 0.9196 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Bernadette Baum)