Nordex to downsize German production facility killing 600 jobs

A reconciliation of interests and a social plan are to be negotiated with the works council in the short term in order to make the planned job cuts socially acceptable for those affected. The discontinuation of production in Rostock would affect around 600 of the roughly 8,600 employees worldwide. In Germany, the Nordex Group employs around 3,150 people.

Nordex cites the increasingly challenging market and competitive environment as the reason for this, based on the switch to the auction system in Germany. The cost of generating energy from wind has fallen by around 50 % over the past five years, and this trend has had a negative impact on manufacturers' profitability. According to Nordex, production in Rostock is no longer competitive, especially as the Rostock site can only produce rotor blades for turbines with a maximum rotor diameter of 149 metres. The global trend is increasingly towards more powerful turbines and longer rotor blades. In this respect, the need and thus the demand for rotor blades that can be manufactured in Rostock will continue to decrease in the future.

Nordex Group CEO, José Luis Blanco, said: "The wind industry is operating in a highly competitive global market which is primarily cost-driven. Against this backdrop, we have to optimise our global production and procurement processes in order to produce profitably and ensure the Nordex Group's competitiveness. As a German and European company, we particularly regret that we see no alternative to this painful step. We need an industrial policy that takes a sustainable and comprehensive approach to decarbonisation as well as supply chain independence."

The production of nacelles, hubs and drive trains, which is also based in Rostock, is not affected, nor are employees working in engineering and service.