Siemens Gamesa to slash 600 jobs over ‘strong headwinds’

Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa on Tuesday said it would cut 600 jobs as the Spanish-German company battles “strong headwinds” despite a jump in annual profits.

In a statement, Siemens Gamesa said it was grappling with lower energy prices, rising costs and “uncertainties brought about by current trade issues”, in a nod to US-China and US-EU trade tensions.

“The adverse factors affecting the wind industry will persist in the short term, despite solid future prospects,” added the company.

To ensure profitability in the long term and “maintain its leadership” in the wind energy industry, Siemens Gamesa plans to slash 600 “white-collar” jobs over the next two years.

It did not specify which countries would be affected.

The latest cull comes on top of 600 job cuts in Denmark that the company already announced in September.

Siemens Gamesa, one of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers, employs some 23,000 people worldwide.

Despite the “strong headwinds” roiling the renewable energy sector, Gamesa said its 2018-2019 net profits had doubled to 140 million euros ($155 million) compared with the previous financial year.

Revenues rose by 12 percent to 10.2 billion euros.

Looking ahead to the next financial year, Siemens Gamesa said it expected revenues of 10.2-10.6 billion euros.

Chief executive Markus Tacke expressed optimism about the future, saying wind energy was now “leading the energy transformation which is so critical to tackling climate change”.

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