Struggling Danish company Vestas in talks with Mitsubishi on possible alliance

28 Aug 2012

Just last week the Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas announced that it is to cut its workforce by 1,100 employees by the end of September, as the ailing company struggles to return to profit. Now the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines has confirmed that it is in talks with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries regarding a possible strategic alliance.

CEO Ditlev Engel announced last week that Vestas is set to intensify its cost reduction plans in order to prepare for a challenging 2013 on the back of its latest interim financial results for the first half of 2012. Vestas is aiming to lower its costs by over €250m.

Before this the Danish company had indicated its plan to slash its workforce by 2.335 by the end of 2012. However, Vestas is now planning to downsize its workforce by 1,000 employees by the end of September. This will bring the Vestas workforce to about 19,000 by the end of the year, as the company battles to restructure as a result of lower forecast wind turbine installations in 2013.

“The further reduction in the workforce is part of the continued cost saving plans which Vestas has been working on since November 2011,” said Engel in an official statement.

By the end of June 2012 the company had installed 51GW of wind power capacity in over 70 countries.

Since the news broke that Vestas could be about to enter a possible alliance with Mitsubishi, its shares apparently leaped by almost 18pc at the stock market in Copenhagen yesterday, according to Reuters.

Wind turbine image via Shutterstock

Carmel Doyle was a long-time reporter with Silicon Republic

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