Canada-based solar module manufacturer Heliene has laid off 93 employees at its Mountain Iron solar module assembly plant in the US state of Minnesota.
The layoffs were announced on Wednesday, 5 August, and took effect the following day. While the company noted the layoffs are “expected to be permanent,” it said that it expects operation at the plant to continue with a reduced workforce. The Mountain Iron project has an annual nameplate manufacturing capacity of 800MW and will continue with 182 employees.
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“The planned action is expected to be permanent, but the entire plant is not closing,” said Heliene vice president of human resources Brianne Pringle, in a letter addressed to Peggy Anderson, mayor of the city of Mountain Iron, and Jason Wadell of the state’s Department of Employment & Economic Development. “The plant will remain open with a reduced workforce that is more aligned to current customer demand and business needs.”
As a privately-held company, Heliene does not release quarterly financial results, so it is unclear how its “business needs” have changed from recent months, when the company made a number of more positive developments; PV Tech has asked the company for more details. Heliene’s last 12 months have included the start of commercial operations at its third module assembly plant in Minnesota last year.
Indeed, last September, Heliene CEO Martin Pochtaruk told PV Tech Premium that global supply chain challenges and wave of tariffs placed on goods imported to the US, to disincentivise reliance on products brought in from overseas, are “a change of conditions” for US solar, but “not the death of the market”.
The layoffs do not necessarily point to a downturn in Heliene’s fortunes, either. Yesterday, the company announced that it is looking to hire a new stringer operator at its facility in Rogers, Minnesota—the plant that was opened last year—suggesting parts of the company’s operations are capable of expanding. Stringer operator was one of the 16 positions that saw layoffs by Heliene at the Mountain Iron project this week.
