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One of Europe’s largest solar-panel producers, Meyer Burger, is to cut almost a fifth of its workforce and overhaul administration because it tries to return to profitability within the face of stiff competitors from Chinese rivals.
The Swiss firm mentioned in a press release on Wednesday that chief government Gunter Erfurt would step down, to get replaced by government chair Franz Richter. Chief monetary officer Markus Nikles will even depart.
The firm would shed about 200 — 19 per cent — of its roughly 1,050 international workforce by the top of 2025, it mentioned.
In March, Meyer Burger, which has factories in Germany and the US, reported a loss of SFr292mn for the 2023 calendar 12 months, blaming “severe price undercutting in the European solar market” for lacking gross sales targets. It has postponed publication of outcomes for the half-year to June 30 till no less than the top of this month as a result of of the challenges of reflecting its restructuring efforts within the figures.
Solar energy has grown strongly over the previous few years, with a report 346 gigawatts put in globally in 2023 — doubtlessly sufficient to energy tons of of tens of millions of houses — pushed by a surge in China.
However, panel makers have struggled as a result of of a surge in manufacturing capability, additionally fuelled by China, which has depressed panel costs and pushed many producers into losses.
Panel costs plunged greater than 60 per cent between July 2022 and July 2023, in accordance to knowledge from BloombergNEF — triggering calls from Meyer Burger and others for extra protectionist commerce measures in Europe.
In a prolonged assertion on social media site X, outgoing chief Erfurt on Wednesday accused European politicians of being “too afraid of China” and “not prepared to protect the European solar industry against unfair competition”.
“The industry of the future has been sacrificed to China,” he wrote, warning this is able to “one day be regretted”.
“Europe has both the technology, the trained people and the entrepreneurial creativity to succeed,” he wrote. “It just needs industrial policy that not only recognises the signs of the times in speeches, but courageously translates them into action.”
Meyer Burger mentioned on Wednesday it will concentrate on “achieving profitability as quickly as possible” and it was contemplating promoting some of its expertise and tools to prospects to increase further income.
Its shares have been down 6.3 per cent in mid-morning in Zurich at SFr1.80, giving the corporate a market capitalisation of SFr57mn. That is 98 per cent down from the SFr108 peak for the previous 12 months, reached in September final 12 months.
Meyer Burger has shifted some manufacturing to the US, tempted by the subsidies on provide to producers in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
However, it has additionally struggled there, and in August it introduced a deliberate 2GW photo voltaic cell manufacturing unit in Colorado was “no longer financially viable” and wouldn’t go forward.
In addition, it suspended plans to develop capability at a brand new panel meeting website in Goodyear, Arizona. It shut a panel meeting website in Freiberg, Saxony, in April, however nonetheless has a cell manufacturing facility in Thalheim.
Of the 200 roles due to go, Meyer Burger mentioned there was a “disproportionate reduction in Europe” though it didn’t specify what number of.
The firm highlighted new chief government Richter’s “extensive experience restructuring industrial companies”.
He is at the moment chair of the supervisory board of Dr Hönle, a German provider of expertise utilizing ultra-violet mild for manufacturing and different purposes.