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11 May, 2026On 29 April 2026 KONE Corporation and TKE announced that KONE and a consortium led by Advent and Cinven have entered into an agreement to combine KONE and TKE in a cash and share transaction, implying a total enterprise value for TKE of EUR 29.4 billion (US$34.6 billion). This deal was made without prior consultation of unions and workers’ representatives, denying them their legal consultation rights.
If approved by regulators this takeover, the largest in Finnish corporate history and one of Europe’s biggest private equity exits, would create the world’s largest elevator and escalator manufacturer. Key topics of discussion include the KONE TK Elevator acquisition and its potential effects on workers’ rights. In doing so, it would employ more than 100,000 workers in over 100 countries.
Workers and their representatives found out when everyone else did through the financial press. Furthermore, they were informed by an email sent by the CEO after going public.
This is unacceptable. The announcement constitutes a serious breach of the GFA signed in 2021 between TK Elevator, the Group Works Council, IG Metall and IndustriALL. This agreement is one that TKE itself describes as key to safeguarding human and employee rights globally. Moreover, it also clearly violates the EWC and Global Workers Council agreements, signed in 2022 and 2024 respectively. These lay down information and consultation rights.
A Betrayal of Trust
The reaction from labour representatives was immediate and unambiguous. Knut Giesler, deputy chairman of TKE’s supervisory board and IG Metall district leader for North Rhine-Westphalia, described the announcement as outrageous. Additionally, he called it a direct attack on workers’ co-determination rights in Germany, Europe and globally. IG Metall demanded an extraordinary supervisory board meeting.
The planned €700 million (US$824 million) in annual synergies represents the language financial markets use for job cuts. This represents a direct threat to tens of thousands of TKE workers worldwide.
Christiane Benner, president of IG Metall and IndustriALL Global:
“The sale of TK Elevator to KONE must not be carried out at the expense of the employees. We will not accept the sacrifice of thousands of good jobs under the guise of synergies. Anyone who supports this merger must also guarantee that jobs and locations will be secured, co-determination will be respected, and opportunities will be created for the workforce—anything else will meet with our resolute opposition.”
And that is why we will fight that:
No location stands alone.
No country is pitted against another.
No employee is left behind.
“From a European perspective, this announcement represents a clear breach of both the spirit and the letter of the European Works Council agreements at KONE and at TK Elevator. More than 45,000 workers in Europe are directly affected by this planned acquisition, yet their elected representatives were completely sidelined. That is not acceptable. Before any further step is taken, both KONE and TK Elevator must fully comply with their existing information and consultation obligations. If this deal is to proceed, it must be a growth project that also benefits workers, through secure jobs, respect for collective bargaining, and full, prior information and consultation,”
says Judith Kirton-Darling, general secretary, industriAll European Trade Union.
The question KONE must answer
KONE has made no public commitment to honour the existing TKE agreements. The merged entity will be headquartered in Finland. TK Elevator’s current co-determination architecture includes the supervisory board structure, the Group Works Council, the European and Global Works Council (GWC) and the GFA itself. However, this faces an uncertain future under new ownership unless KONE explicitly and formally assumes all obligations.
IndustriALL general secretary, Atle Hoie, said:
“The announcement of KONE’s acquisition of TK Elevator is a direct violation of the GFA and GWC agreement that IndustriALL signed with TK Elevator in 2021 and 2024. These agreements are not a formality, they are a binding commitment to consult workers before decisions of this magnitude are made, not after. More than 100,000 workers around the world learned about the biggest change in both companies’ history from the financial press. That is unacceptable. There will be no union cooperation with this transaction unless our agreements are honoured in full.”
Taking immediate action
Both IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll Europe are coordinating with affiliates, including IG Metall and Finnish affiliates, to ensure workers on both sides of this transaction have a voice.
The antitrust review process for this transaction is expected to last at least until mid-2027. That window is not merely a regulatory formality; it is an opportunity. The unions will use every day of it to fight for their jobs.
Private equity bought TK Elevator in 2020. Workers already paid a price for that transition. They will not be left behind again.
The world’s largest elevator company should not be built on the backs of workers who were never asked.
Employees are not the subject of this deal—they are its foundation. After all, they are the ones who have created the value and must be treated with appreciation and respect.