Siemens Energy to shed 615 wind jobs in US

Sep 19, 2012 - Wind turbine maker Siemens Energy Inc will let 615 employees at its plants in Florida, Iowa and Kansas go, due to tough market conditions and the expiry of the production tax credit, The Associated Press (AP) said Tuesday, citing a company spokesman.

The company, which is part of German Siemens AG (ETR:SIE), will lay off 407 workers at its Fort Madison wind turbine blade plant in Iowa, 62 workers in Orlando and 146 in Kansas. As a result, Siemens’ total wind power workforce in the US will melt to 1,000.

Despite the difficulties, Siemens plans to keep its US plants in which it has poured USD 100 million (EUR 76.5m) in the last five years, AP said.

In August, several wind energy sector players such as UK-listed Clipper Windpower Plc (LON:CWP), Danish Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) and Danish LM Wind Power also unveiled lay-offs in the US. As early as December 2011, non-partisan consultancy Navigant Consulting released a report, projecting that should the production tax credit be allowed to expire, some 37,000 Americans could lose their jobs that are directly or indirectly related to the wind energy industry.

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