By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
First Solar Inc. has announced it will halt some production at the plant in Perrysburg Township for about 18 months.
The move comes as the company shifts from one series of solar modules to another. In a conference call Wednesday Mark Widmar announced it will scrap its new series 5 line and move directly to its series 6 line. That will require it to retool its facilities including the Perrysburg Township plant.
Steve Krum, spokesman for First Solar Inc., issued a statement Thursday afternoon detailing the job cuts. As of Nov. 21, the company will begin “separating” 450 employees who either work on the affected lines or support those employees. Those employees will stay on the payroll for 60 days.
Another 200 workers will continue to manufacture Series 4 modules on lines not affected by the plant retooling. The statement continued: ” Additionally, several hundred associates working in Research & Development, supply chain sourcing, customer support, IT and other functions will continue to support our global operations out of the Perrysburg facility.”
CEO Mark Widmar said Wednesday that “Ohio will continue to be our innovation hub.”
The company expects some production at Perrysburg will resume in the second half of 2018. Thursday’s statement said: “We will assess the need for additional production workers when the new lines are operational.”
The company said moving to the newest series and skipping one line will better meet market demand.
The Series 6 modules will cost 40 percent less to produce. The company will also be able to manufacture them in their existing plants. The company said it is also considering putting a plant in Vietnam that was built but never used to work once production is ramped up.
In the meantime production will be less next year than this, down from more than 3 gigawatts to about 2.2 gigawatts. First Solar hopes to have 3 gigawatts of production in 2018.
Widmar said the move is in the best long-term interest of the company.
The company is expecting to pay $10-15 million in severance charges this year.
In announcing the move, Widmar stated: “The acceleration of the Series 6 roadmap is an important development for First Solar. Following the completion of an internal review process to evaluate the best competitive response to address the current challenging market conditions, we have developed plans that will enable us to more quickly begin production of our Series 6 module. Although the decision to accelerate our Series 6 roadmap requires a restructuring of our current operations, we expect the transition to Series 6 will enable us to maximize the intrinsic cost advantage of CdTe thin-film technology versus crystalline silicon. Recent steep module pricing declines require us to evaluate all components of our cost structure and streamline our business model to best position the Company for long-term success.”
Widmar also noted during the call that there’s some uncertainty in the future about if a Trump Administration will continue support for alternative energy technology.
