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Employees

On December 31, 2008, ThyssenKrupp had 197,175 employees worldwide, 2,199 or 1.1% fewer than at the end of the last fiscal year (September 30, 2008). While Elevator increased its workforce as part of its business expansion, employee numbers were down in all the other segments.

Compared with the prior-year quarter ended December 31, 2007, however, the number of employees grew by 4,038. This 2% increase was due in part to the expansion of the Elevator business in Asia, the integration of the Apollo group and recruitment at ThyssenKrupp CSA in Brazil.

Compared with September 30, 2008, the headcount fell 0.8% in Germany to 84,432 and by 1.3% in the rest of the world to 112,743. At the end of December 2008, 43% of our workforce was employed in Germany, 23% in the rest of Europe, 16% in the NAFTA region, 8% in South America and 10% in Asia, particularly China and India, and the rest of the world.

As a result of the worsening economic parameters, several subsidiaries in Germany and abroad agreed to introduce short-time working in the reporting period. In most cases, short-time work will commence in the 2nd fiscal quarter.

Engineering graduates in particular are increasingly keen to gain higher qualifications in doctoral programs with a strong practical focus. In our new-look program for doctoral students, highly qualified young academics develop innovations and contribute their input to the latest technologies in the Group. Targeted primarily at engineering graduates, the program provides 20 participants with interdisciplinary support in their doctoral studies over a maximum period of three years.

Good students most commonly find their future employer through attractive internships. In the past fiscal year, ThyssenKrupp employed around 1,200 interns. The best 100, who displayed stand-out commitment and performance, will join a roughly two-year program in which they will receive extensive support through to the start of their professional careers. During this program, the interns will gain a better knowledge of our Group and also of their own potential.

This pool of good students in our new entry programs will enable us to meet our needs for talented engineers and scientists with a passion for technology.