The letter did not disclose either how much Berlin had proposed in state help, or by how much this had been reduced. The conflict lays bare how much industrial heavyweights depend on aid to decarbonise their businesses as well as the need for governments to approve subsidies quickly to avoid companies from shifting investments or stopping them altogether. Thyssenkrupp in August made the investment decision for the so-called direct reduction iron (DRI) site at its steel base in Duisburg, provided substantial subsidy commitments by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin were fulfilled. Tekin Nasikkol, who heads the works council of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, told Reuters last week that Berlin needed to quickly approve hundreds of millions in subsidies for the site, adding workers' patience had run out. ($1 = 0.9084 euros)Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz and Christian Kraemer; Editing by Friederike HeineOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

---