LOS ANGELES—Blaming a “fundamentally changed” solar industry and plunging business in Europe, panel maker First Solar Inc. is cutting 2,000 jobs and closing a factory.
The layoffs represent 30 percent of the workforce of the Tempe, Arizona, company, which is the leading US manufacturer of photovoltaic solar panels—the type commonly found on rooftops. The factory being closed is in Frankfurt, Germany. In addition, the company will indefinitely idle four production lines at its facility in Kulim, Malaysia, as of May 1.
Some US employees of the company will also be cut, though First Solar on Tuesday did not disclose how many. The workforce reductions will cost First Solar up to $70 million in severance, the company said.
You would think rising petrol prices under Obama would be increasing solar unit sales. But looks like the US goverment supported companies can't compete with those cheap Chinese solar panels.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
FredHayek wrote: You would think rising petrol prices under Obama would be increasing solar unit sales. But looks like the US goverment supported companies can't compete with those cheap Chinese solar panels.
When has the government made any good bets (with our money)in the last couple of decades?
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
I read an article today, the solar tariffs on the cheapo Chinese solar panels are backfiring and causing solar installers to lose more jobs than are saved at the US solar manufacturers. Gov't always comes to the rescue with economic policy and unintended consequences.
Keep up the good work!
If you want to be, press one. If you want not to be, press 2
Republicans are red, democrats are blue, neither of them, gives a flip about you.
Quote I saw this week: Why are more people concerned about how Romney got his money than by how Obama is spending their money?
Sig line material there.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
There's a very interesting article in Time magazine about US energy and how the world market its dictating the price of a barrel of oil, even through we're producing even more now than in 2005 and demand is less. The rise in the price of oil is not affected by drilling or on Canadian tar sands being sent through the US via Keystone.
No matter how much you think drilling domestically will being down gas prices, it won't.
