Vestas to Cut 400 Jobs and Stops Some Projects

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 [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 20, 2020 09:30 ET (13:30 GMT)

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