Vestas is to shut a nacelle assembly factory in Leon, Spain, putting over 350 jobs at risk.
The Danish turbine manufacturer has taken the decision due to “market developments” that have reduced demand for 2MW units made at the facility. The decision was first reported by subscriber-only reNEWS in July.
Turbines with 4MW nacelles are now the order of the day, which “can be met by less capacity than currently provided by nacelles factories in Europe and other regions where Vestas recently has established production capacity”, the company said.
All 362 workers in Leon are affected and Vestas is “exploring opportunities” to relocate some of them to other sites in Spain and overseas via an “outplacement plan”.
Talks with works councils and employees are due to be finalised within 30 days.
Unspecified costs will be incurred by shutting down Leon due to write downs on land and buildings. These will be booked in the third quarter.
Spain “remains a key market” for the company. “Vestas continues to have a strong local footprint to serve Spanish and international markets, including a generator factory in Viviero and a blades factory in Daimiel where Vestas is investing to set up production of blades for the V150-4.2 MW turbine.”
Image: Vestas
Danes to shut Spanish factory
By EBS