Wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Wind Power has announced that it is laying off 94 employees and 140 temporary workers at its Little Rock, Ark., manufacturing facility.
The company cited the U.S. government's failure to extend the wind energy production tax credit (PTC) as the reason for the layoffs.
"We have been compelled to make adjustments, but our headcount and capacity reductions are significantly less than the market decline at this stage," the company said in a statement. “LM Wind Power will continue to retain a strong commercial, manufacturing and service presence in the Americas region, with over 1,100 employees at four strategic locations across Arkansas, North Dakota, Illinois and Texas.
“We are working closely with our customers, and we are positive about the future, but will continue to have to reassess as long as the PTC remains in question,” the company added.
Bill Burga, LM Wind Power’s head of manufacturing for the Americas, noted that LM Wind Power is not the only company that is already seeing the effects of a possible PTC expiration.
“The challenging situation in the U.S. wind market is not specific to LM Wind Power or to the Little Rock manufacturing facilities - the whole sector is affected,” he said in a statement. “As always, our first concern is protecting the long-term viability of our operations and the jobs they support.”
LM Wind Power is not the first wind energy company to issue layoffs in the U.S. as a result of a possible PTC lapse.
Last month, Gamesa announced it was laying off 165 workers at its Pennsylvania nacelle and blade manufacturing facilities, and in May, Vestas said it would make a decision this quarter on whether to lay off 1,600 U.S. employees.
