Longi Green Technology Energy Co., the world’s largest solar manufacturer, is cutting almost one-third of its staff to slash costs in an industry struggling with overcapacity and fierce competition, Bloomberg reported.
The Longi layoffs may impact roughly 24,000 employees or so. The solar company had roughly 80,000 employees as of 2023, Bloomberg estimated.
Longi, founded in 2000, is headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The company has been listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange since April 2012, Wikipedia notes.
Solar Energy Industry Layoffs: Companies that are Cutting Jobs
Although demand for solar energy has been growing, the market faces a glut of products and price wars. Moreover, some government policies -- including those in California -- have further harmed the solar energy job market.
Among the solar industry labor trends to note:
Solar Energy Market: Why Layoffs Have Arrived
Concerns about solar market revenues began to emerge in mid-2023, when analysts at Susquehanna cut price targets on several top companies in the solar energy sector, saying "recent industry checks and conversations with installers and equipment providers suggest softening demand across the U.S. market," SeekingAlpha reported.
At the time, Susquehanna issued target price cuts on such stocks as Enphase Energy, Sunnova Energy, SunPower, Sunrun and SolarEdge Technologies, the report said.
By October 2023, SolarEdge issued an earnings warning that included a major quarterly revenue shortfall. Numerous companies cut jobs thereafter.
Sustainability and Green Technology Jobs: Climate Tech Training Programs
Despite those anecdotal job cuts, demand for green jobs in the United States has grown roughly 50% since 2019, according to Lightcast.
In response, companies such as Accenture, EY, Goodwill and Microsoft have launched green jobs training programs.
