(Bloomberg) -- Vestas Wind Systems A/S will eliminate about 300 roles at a factory in the UK as the Danish wind turbine maker overhauls the site to produce onshore machines.
The site isn’t suitable to produce the newest blades that Vestas will manufacture for its latest machine to generate electricity from winds at sea, according to a statement from the company on Wednesday. Vestas said it worked with the UK government to preserve some 300 manufacturing jobs out of the 600 people employed at the site as it shifts operations to focus on turbines used on land.
The government said the agreement with Vestas helped preserve half the jobs.
“My thoughts today are with the staff at Vestas who are facing uncertainty about the future of their jobs, especially at this time of year,” UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said in a separate statement. “I am, however, pleased that we have reached this agreement in principle with the company to save 300 jobs on the site.”
Britain aims to use a rapid shift to more renewable electricity as a way to drive economic growth and investment in the coming years. The government has said it wants to quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030 and lifted a ban on onshore wind farms in England.
That policy decision on English wind farms helped Vestas make the decision to maintain the site on the Isle of Wight to produce the onshore turbine blades.
The company will offer opportunities to employees affected by the staff cuts in other parts of the business, according to the statement. It will begin consulting with employees and aims to have clarity on their jobs by January.
The agreement with the government, details of which weren’t made public, needs to be approved and go through a due diligence process. If not for that deal, the factory would have closed completely, according to a government statement.
(Updates with additional details)
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