Vestas is planning to axe approximately 400 jobs across its global organisation in response to a “shift in growth from more traditional wind markets to high-growth markets primarily outside of Europe”.
The Danish manufacturer said market changes require the company to “shift its global footprint to ensure costs are balanced with activity levels”.
About 75% of the cuts will be in northern and central Europe, representing 1.6% of its 24,300 global workforce, it added.
Most of the job losses will be in white collar roles with approximately 60% in Denmark and Germany, Vestas said.
However the company’s Hammel manufacturing facility in Denmark will reduce staff levels by about 80 people.
The factory, which produces wind turbine converters, will increase its focus on new products, including prototype building, testing and documenting.
Production capacity will be relatively unaffected by the wider layoffs and have no impact on the company’s ability to deliver on current and future orders, Vestas said.
Vestas chief executive and president Anders Runevad said: “It is always hard to let good, hardworking colleagues go but with most of market growth expected to be outside of Europe, our global footprint must reflect the market development we see in order to grasp those growth opportunities.”
He added: “Vestas continues to proactively manage its cost base and ensure an agile organisation that enables us to invest in products and services that meet customer needs and markets where we can capture future growth.”
The company said the redundancy process will start immediately in accordance with legal requirements.
The changes will lead to annual savings of approximately €30m from 2019, Vestas added.