(Bloomberg) -- Meyer Burger Technology AG announced a deep restructuring plan and swapped out its top executives, in the latest attempt to return to profitability for the ailing Swiss solar panel maker.
Chief Executive Officer Gunter Erfurt and Chief Financial Officer Markus Nikles are leaving, the company said Wednesday, and some 200 jobs of its 1050-strong workforce will be cut. Erfurt will be replaced by Chairman Franz Richter and the management board will shrink to three members.
The company’s travails are emblematic of the wider state of the solar panel industry in Europe and the US, with the near hegemony of cheap Chinese products in the global market. Despite government support, Meyer Burger has continued to stumble and, after plans to set up a cell factory in the US failed last month, it had run out of options.
“This drastic measure is sensible, but it comes too late,” Zürcher Kantonalbank analyst Bernd Laux said in a note. “It remains to be seen whether it can prevent Meyer Burger’s slow demise.”
The company’s shares fell as much as 13% on Wednesday.
The company’s trials are emblematic of the broader economic challenges identified by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi last week in his report on European Union competitiveness. The bloc has been slow to respond to challenges posed by American financial incentives for the green transition and China’s aggressive industrial plans, with consequences being felt in key industries.
Meyer Burger now targets revenue of 350 million Swiss francs ($414 million) to 400 million francs from 2026 onwards, as well as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the mid-double-digit million range. That’s based largely on existing production capacity and long-term supply agreements with key customers, it said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the firm said it planned to shut production at a German plant that it considered uncompetitive with Chinese imports. On Wednesday, Meyer Burger said it’s also exploring selling technology and equipment to customers in solar cell production.
--With assistance from Allegra Catelli.
(Updates with analyst, market reaction in fourth and fifth paragraphs.)
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