ThyssenKrupp defends Tata steel merger

BERLIN: German heavy industry giant ThyssenKrupp on Thursday defended its disputed merger with India’s Tata Steel, saying its restructuring plan and the tie-up would help to secure tens of thousands of jobs.

On Thursday, thousands of workers, some holding up signs saying “We are the future”, answered a call by metal works union IG Metall to protest at the group’s Andernach site in western Germany.

But ThyssenKrupp chief executive Heinrich Hiesinger defended the merger and planned overhaul at the conglomerate, saying: “We will perhaps cut thousands of jobs, but we will also secure tens of thousands of jobs with this co-enterprise.” —AFP

Amazon workers strike on Black Friday

MILAN: Workers at Amazon’s main distribution hub in Italy are planning their first ever strike for Friday, trade unions said, while they are also striking at six warehouses in Germany, threatening to disrupt one of the year’s busiest shopping days.

Like the rest of Europe, Italians in recent years have embraced the US tradition of Black Friday, a day of heavy discounting by retailers on the day after Thanksgiving. Unions said in a statement more than 500 Amazon workers at the Piacenza site in northern Italy had agreed to strike following a failure to negotiate bonuses with the company.

Workers have also decided not to do any overtime until Dec 31 for the online retailer which hires temporary workers during this period.—Reuters

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2017