The German subsidiaries of Swiss module manufacturer Meyer Burger Technology – Meyer Burger Industries and Meyer Burger Germany – have both filed for insolvency. The company is struggling with extremely low prices in the module market, with its module and cell production facilities in Freiberg, Saxony, and in Thalheim, a district of Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Saxony-Anhalt, posting negative figures for years.
Selected sites abroad remain active
The plant for manufacturing production equipment in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Saxony – acquired by Meyer Burger from Roth & Rau in 2011 – is also affected. The subsidiary in Thun, Switzerland, with its 60 employees, is not part of the insolvency proceedings. Production in the USA, launched only last year, has also been halted, with all employees made redundant. However, the subsidiary Meyer Burger Americas will continue operations.
Solar Fabrik breaks ground on 300 MW solar module facility
Restructuring to continue
Meyer Burger has long fought to preserve its production sites. To date, these efforts have not been successful and will now continue as part of the proceedings together with a court-appointed provisional insolvency administrator, the company announced on its website. The company has been a strong advocate of the political support for European module manufacturing, calling for investment subsidies or local content regulations – the latter referring to incentives for building PV arrays using European components.
Pilot production begins at ISE for solar shingles from Freesuns
600 jobs at risk
More than 600 jobs are at risk as a result of the insolvency. The Meyer Burger Industries solar cell facility in Thalheim previously employed 331 people, while 289 jobs are affected in equipment and machine production at Meyer Burger Germany in Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Module production in Freiberg had already been discontinued in the first quarter of 2024. (su/tf)
