Schüco to cease thin-film production, hundreds of jobs to go

The company said in a press release that all production and operations at both its thin-film plants will be permanently terminated. The closure will take place in Osterweddingen (near Magdeburg) on 30 September 2012 and in Großröhrsdorf (near Dresden) on 31 August 2012. The R&D facility in Bielefeld will be closed on 31 December 2012. The company said the closure will affect 275 employees. In order to reduce the long-term cost structures of Schüco International KG in the New Energies division, the company said another 200 posts will go at various sites in Germany by the end of 2012. “Over the last two years, extreme price reductions for photovoltaic modules, overproduction, reductions in subsidies throughout Europe and falling demand in the European core markets have led to a drastic downturn in sales across the entire solar industry,” a statement by the company said. “In 2011, the Schüco New Energies division had to struggle against fast falling prices and shrinking demand in parts of Europe, and experienced a decline in turnover from over 1 billion euros in 2010 to approx. 850 million euros (-19.0%). In the first half of 2012, the division saw a further double-digit drop in turnover, with sales figures dropping markedly in the high volume markets of Germany, France, Italy and the USA due to competition and market conditions.”