28 April 2009

Wind power firm to lay off 1900

Government hopes for the creation of thousands of ‘green collar’ jobs were blown off course today (28 April) as the wind turbine manufacturer Vestas announced 1900 lay-offs, mainly in England, where it has a manufacturing facility on the Isle of Wight, and Denmark.

The company said it had hired more than 5000 people during 2008 in anticipation of revenue growth of 40% in 2009. Now, productivity improvements and expansion in the USA and China had led to overcapacity in Northern Europe which had previously manufactured for the US market.

A company statement said: “As Vestas no longer believes that the North European markets in the years ahead will be able to absopb the capacity released, as a result of the US expansion, Vestas is unfortunately compelled to reduce production capacity in Northern Europe. Consequently, Vestas expects to lay off approximately 1900 employees in Northern Europe, primarily in Denmark and England.”

It is understood that the Isle of Wight facility will be closed although the company said that following the lay offs it will still have the capacity to manufacture, ship and install 10,000 MW of power in 2010 and that the British government’s commitments to invest in wind power together with higher tariffs would have a positive influence on Vestas producing blades in the UK.

Author
Ken Hurst

Supporting Information

Companies
Vestas Blades UK Ltd
Vestas Technology UK Ltd

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