Düsseldorf (Reuters) - A bombshell at Thyssenkrupp: Chief Executive Officer Martina Merz has asked the Supervisory Board for talks on an amicable termination of her mandate, the company surprisingly announced on Monday.

Merz has been CEO of the Ruhr Group since October 2019 and is the first woman to hold this position. Her contract, which has since been extended, was due to run until the end of March 2028. However, the former Bosch manager had recently come under pressure from shareholders and powerful employee representatives. Her plans to make the steel division independent met with opposition. The planned partial IPO of the hydrogen subsidiary Nucera is still a long time coming.

"Important strategic decisions have been made," explained Merz. Promising talks have been initiated with potential partners for the independence of the steel division. "In the upcoming phase, the focus is on financial expertise and further improving performance." Additional commercial expertise would certainly be useful here. "I want to pave the way for this focus in the interests of the company."

(Report by Tom Käckenhoff. Edited by Olaf Brenner. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)