Citing continued downward market pricing pressures, Suniva announced a significant reduction in force, at both its Norcross, Georgia, and Saginaw, Michigan, facilities–affecting employees in all areas of company operations.
Significance of the layoffs was not immediately known, although the Atlanta Business Chronicle noted in a story behind a pay-wall on March 9, 2017, that the Georgia facility was in a temporary plant shutdown.
The reductions come as U.S. solar manufacturers face attack from the continued growth of global manufacturing overcapacity, particularly in Asia, and the ongoing influx of foreign imports, which continue to drive down domestic prices. Since 2013, when the U.S. Government instituted anti-dumping and countervailing duties against manufacturers in certain countries, additional new global overcapacity has continued to drive U.S. market prices to levels that challenge responsible economic operations for U.S. manufacturers. The resulting faltering economics have led to similar actions at multiple companies in the manufacturing, construction, and development segments of the U.S. industry over the last 12 months.
Suniva said it remains committed to U.S. manufacturing and continuing forward as America’s leading manufacturer of high-efficiency and high-quality solar products. The company is actively investigating all economically-responsible operational structures and will aggressively pursue all avenues that create a fair and rational market for U.S. manufacturers in this important industry.
Suniva just opened a 250-MW capacity expansion at its Georgia plant, bringing full capacity to 450 MW of monocrystalline cells and panels.