Some 900 jobs in GE Vernova’s offshore wind business unit could be lost as the company plans to downsize the business.
“On September 19, we submitted a proposal to the GE Vernova European Works Council related to proposed changes in our Offshore Wind business globally. The proposal reflects industry wide challenges for wind and aims to transform our Offshore Wind business into a smaller, leaner and more profitable business within GE Vernova”, a GE Vernova Spokesperson said in an email statement to offshoreWIND.biz.
This could impact approximately 900 roles globally, according to a company source, who also said GE Vernova was committed to supporting the potentially impacted employees over the next several months. “We will do everything we can to help everyone in their potential transition inside or outside GE.”
The decision to slim down the offshore wind business comes on the heels of inflation and global supply chain challenges, as well as lower-than-expected volume associated with delays to GE Vernova’s key projects.
With this move, the company aims to return its offshore wind business to profitability and integrate within its Wind Segment, which is said to be consistent with GE Vernova Wind businesses’ turnaround strategy.
On the reasons behind downsizing the business unit, the company source noted that many of the abovementioned issues were industry-wide and that GE Vernova’s competitors were facing similar challenges.
How this move could affect the offshore wind turbine OEM landscape and capacity buildout is yet to be seen. In Europe, Vestas, Siemens Gamesa and GE Vernova are now joined by China’s Mingyang Smart Energy which could set up shop in Italy. In the US, GE Vernova’s Haliade-X platform was chosen for several projects, with Vestas and Siemens Gamesa also having a share in the market.