Q-Cells, which has struggled to deal with a market slump, said that it is cutting 500 jobs and implementing other measures to reduce production costs by 25 percent.
The Germany company, one of the world's largest solar cell makers, said it needs to take steps to shore up capital and narrow its focus on its core businesses after delivering a lackluster financial performance for the first six months of this year.
The job cuts would reduce the company's workforce by roughly a fifth.
Q-Cells saw its six-month revenue fall 36.8 percent to €366.2 million ($522.8 million) from €579.5 million ($827.3 million) in the year-ago period. It recorded an operating loss of €47.6 million ($67.9 million), compared with an operating income of €119.1 million in the first six months of 2008.
The company said it posted a net loss of €696.9 million ($994.8 million) when it included the €600.9 million ($857.8 million) write-down from the sale of its shares in Renewable Energy Corp.
Q-Cells is shutting down older production lines at its factory in Thalheim because it no longer has the scale or technical ability to make cells at least as cheaply as its competitors, the company said.
The company had implemented cost-cutting measures before it announced the job cuts and financial results on Thursday. Back in April, the firm said most of its staff would work shorter hours.
Q-Cells hasn't been immune to the same market forces that have pummeled other players in the solar market.
The solar industry moved from a boom in 2008, when companies worked quickly to boost production, to a bust in 2009. The credit crunch has made it difficult for developers to line up money to build solar power plants. The global market is so saturated with unused solar panels that one research firm recently predicted that the glut would last until 2012.
Source: Green Tech Media
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