REC to close wafer facility in Glomfjord - 200 jobs lost

With prospects of continued negative operating results in Glomfjord, REC has decided to close down the 300 MW monocrystalline wafer plant. The plant is expected to be closed shortly, and about 200 employees will be affected. "Our organization in Glomfjord has demonstrated operational improvements and cost reductions that are impressive, but this has unfortunately not been sufficient to ensure profitability in a very challenging market environment. We are conscious of the impact the shutdown will have on the affected employees and the community of Glomfjord, and this is therefore not a decision we have taken with ease", said Ole Enger, President & CEO. Three out of four employee representatives in the REC Board of Directors voted against the closedown decision. The fixed assets of the wafer plant were written down to zero in 2011. REC will recognize costs and obligations in relation to the close down of the plant in the first quarter 2012. Costs related to close down of production capacity in Norway will be excluded from EBITDA in the covenant calculation in RECs bank loan agreement. REC will also scale down the credit line to NOK 4.0 billion in line with the company needs.