2024-09-19 12:44:25
The solar manufacturer Meyer Burger wants to become profitable again. To achieve this, jobs are to be cut in Europe – and created in the USA.
The troubled Swiss solar manufacturer Meyer Burger, with locations in Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, wants to cut jobs. “The significant streamlining, particularly in the entire corporate structure, will lead to a reduction in the global number of employees from currently around 1,050 to an expected 850 by the end of 2025,” the company announced. Jobs in Europe in particular are to be cut, while an increase is planned in the USA. With the restructuring, Meyer Burger wants to return to profitability.
It is not yet certain where exactly which jobs will be lost. Layoffs at German locations cannot be ruled out, said Franz Richter, Chairman of the Board of Directors. However, he stressed that production in Saxony-Anhalt must not be put at risk. “Cell production in Thalheim is the backbone and will remain,” said Richter. The site in Hohenstein-Ernstthal in Saxony is also important for research and development. The job cuts are more likely to affect positions in the administrative area, for example.
The streamlining of the company is also evident elsewhere: The previous managing director, Gunter Erfurt, has resigned from his position and will be leaving Meyer Burger, it was announced. It was Erfurt’s own decision, said Richter, who is taking over the management with immediate effect.
The company has a technology and product center in Hohenstein-Ernstthal (Zwickau district) in Saxony, where mass production systems are developed. According to the company website, these are used in the production facility in Thalheim (Bitterfeld-Wolfen) in Saxony-Anhalt. Solar cells are manufactured there.
When asked, the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Magdeburg stated that there had been numerous discussions with the management of Meyer Burger. “In these discussions, the company has, among other things, reaffirmed its commitment to the location in Saxony-Anhalt,” said a spokeswoman for Minister Sven Schulze (CDU). The company will continue to be in contact with the company.
Just a few months ago, the closure of solar cell production in Thalheim was being considered. However, the company assessed the planned construction of an alternative production facility in the USA as currently unaffordable and stopped the project, which is why Thalheim and its approximately 350 employees are still needed. In the spring, however, the group closed what it claims to be Europe’s largest solar module production facility in Freiberg, Saxony.