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French BIPV specialist Tenesol is to lay off 70 of its employees in France.
The move is said to be part of recently announced restructuring plans by Tenesol’s parent company SunPower, which will involve reducing its workforce by 900 employees.
Most of these layoffs will be in the Philippines; SunPower announced last week that it is restructuring its Fab 2 cell manufacturing plant in the Philippines and is, in turn, reducing its workforce at the facility.
But French trade union Federation Chimie Energy (FCE) Cfdt has revealed that Tenesol will also be affected and lose up to 70 French workers.
In a statement, the FCE Cfdt called for Total, which owns the majority of SunPower, to make a u-turn on its decision despite the competition that Tenesol faces from China.
Commenting on the workforce reduction in the Philippines, Tom Werner, SunPower CEO and President, said: “Industry conditions continue to be challenging and while it is never an easy decision to reduce positions, we must make prudent decisions to effectively compete in an industry with significant overcapacity. Additionally, we'll further our efforts to reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies."
Tenesol was acquired by SunPower Corporation in February.
