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Solar company Meyer Burger: 500 people are employed at the Freiberg location.
© Sebastian Kahnert/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
The threat was already in the air, now Meyer Burger wants to get serious: The solar manufacturer has decided to begin preparations for the closure of its factory in Freiberg.
Freiberg - The solar company Meyer Burger has announced that it is preparing to close its factory in Freiberg in Saxony.
This should take place gradually, said the Swiss producer based in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
Initially, production will stop in the first half of March.
The company expects this to result in significant cost savings from April.
The closure is scheduled to come into force at the end of April.
Instead, the solar module manufacturer wants to ramp up production in the USA, it said.
Meyer Burger had also recently brought up this step again and again.
The group justified the move by saying that “there is still no decision on political support measures to remedy the current market distortions caused by oversupply and dumping prices for solar modules.”
With its factory in Freiberg, Meyer Burger claims to have the largest solar module production company in Europe.
500 workers are employed at the Freiberg location.
Other manufacturers in the solar industry had also recently threatened to close local plants: China is flooding the market for solar modules with price dumping, and financial support from the state is needed to maintain the industry in Germany.
CDU vice-president Jung criticizes traffic lights
After the announcement, the deputy CDU chairman Andreas Jung accused the federal government of failings.
“The traffic light accepts such investment decisions against Germany with full eyesight,” said the energy policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group on Friday.
“By making cuts instead of strengthening them, they are endangering jobs in the East and the energy security of the future,” complained Jung.
Germany should not become completely dependent on China for future energies.
The federal government failed to react to the situation: “Decisive action is now the order of the day.” dpa