Vestas to Cut 400 Jobs and Stops Some Projects
April 20 2020 - 9:45AM
Dow Jones News
By Dominic Chopping
Vestas Wind Systems AS will cut around 400 jobs and stop some
projects as it adjusts its product portfolio amid shifting market
demand.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has and will continue to shape societies
and economies, and the industrial challenges and economic turmoil
it brings will likely take years for societies to recover from,"
Vestas said.
"Together with the renewables industry's changing competitive
landscape, Vestas is taking steps to ensure we exit 2020 in the
position of strength with which we entered it."
The Danish wind turbine maker said it will further optimize
parts of its product portfolio, which includes stopping certain
projects with immediate effect. Meanwhile, additional measures are
needed because of the pandemic to ensure it can execute on its
order backlog and customer commitments in 2020, it added.
As a result, Vestas said it will reduce its workforce which
doesn't directly support 2020 deliveries. Around 400 jobs will go
in total, most of them in Denmark.
Also, registered directors in its executive management team will
take a 10% pay cut until the end of the year.
"We are in a period of high uncertainty and by making a
strategic decision on our product portfolio and reducing
complexity, we sustain our competitiveness in the future and ensure
we can adjust quickly to Covid-19 challenges," Chief Executive
Henrik Andersen said.
Vestas employs more than 25,500 people globally and around 4,000
in Denmark.
The company had previously suspended its full-year guidance due
to the pandemic but said its proposed 7.93 Danish kroner ($1.15)
dividend for 2019 remains in place.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2020 09:30 ET (13:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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