German-Spanish Wind Energy Giant To Lay Off 6000 Workers, Citing “Changing Market Conditions”

The online German business daily Handelsblatt here writes that European wind energy company Siemens Gamesa will eliminate 6000 jobs.

That means the German-Spanish company will shed more than a fifth of it 26,000 workers. This is the latest bad news slamming the green energy industry in Germany and Europe. Over the years Germany has seen almost every major solar panel and equipment manufacturer become insolvent. Spain too has been hit hard by renewable energy insolvencies.

Once ballyhooed as the sector for the future, German solar and and wind energy industry has taken huge hits. The country’s last remaining major solar manufacturer, Bonn-based Solarworld, earlier this year announced it would file for bankruptcy. Solarworld’s demise was the last of a spectacular series of solar manufacturer bankruptcies that swept across Germany over the past years, with names like Solon, Solar Millenium and Q-Cells going under.

Now the bloodbath is expanding to the wind industry, a branch of green energy that looked far more feasible in Germany than solar energy did.

The announcement by Siemens-Gamesa coincides with the COP 23 Bonn climate conference now taking place, which is calling for more wind and sun energy at a time the industry is collapsing at full speed in Germany.

According to Siemens-Gamesa Board Chairman Markus Tacke: “Our business result is still not at the level where we would like to see it.”

Last year Spanish Gamesa and German Siemens combined their wind power operations to form one of the world’s largest producers of wind turbines.

Handelsblatt writes the Siemens daughter company was reacting to “changing market conditions” and that the move will impact 6 countries.

The company also expects to see its revenue for the coming fiscal year fall to 9 billion euros from almost 11 billion.

The Handelsblatt also reports that “no improvement is foreseen in the new fiscal year“.

Other links in English:
www.expatica.com/de/news/country-news/Germany-layoffs
http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-siemens-gamesa-to-6000-jobs=T

 

6 responses to “German-Spanish Wind Energy Giant To Lay Off 6000 Workers, Citing “Changing Market Conditions””

  1. Kurt in Switzerland

    Maybe they’ll find a way to blame it on the Catalan independence movement.

    LOL.

    1. Kurt in Switzerland

      … or the Donald.

  2. Kurt in Switzerland

    … or “the Russians”

  3. yonason
  4. Robert Christopher

    Pity the electric cars, sitting in the driveway, and their owners, without heating and illumination.

  5. Bitter&twisted

    Shows just how viable green energy is once the subsidies start to dry up.
    Any comment Sebastian?

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