On November 21st, 2012 Meyer Burger Technology Ltd. (Baar, Switzerland) announced that it is accelerating and expanding its restructuring, and has eliminated 19% of total full-time positions, instead of the 15% announced in March 2012. The group now employs 2,272 workers.

The company has announced further reductions to bring the company to 2,000 employees, which it says will enable it to respond quickly to market fluctuations in a cost-effective manner, without sacrificing technology leadership. Meyer Burger has also released an updated 2012 financial guidance.

Roth & Rau to lose up to 200 employees

This will include further restructuring at subsidiary Roth & Rau AG (Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany), which is expected to eliminate 50 positions in Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Meyer Burger states that the company's ongoing technology development, including work on heterojunction technology, will not be impacted.

At other Roth & Rau locations, restructuring could reduce around 200 employees. The goal of the restructuring is to increase efficiency and reduce operating costs by roughly USD 30 million.

Meyer Burger states that its research and development (R&D) activities for solar photovoltaic (PV) technology remain strong, citing the recent market introduction of hetero-junction technology. The group says that this technology can achieve 21% PV cell efficiencies.

Negative EBITDA margin predicted for 2012

While noting that visibility in the overall PV equipment market remains limited, Meyer Burger anticipates sales of slightly more than USD 650 million in its fiscal year 2012. The company also expects an EBITDA margin between -3% and -6%, due to both the restructuring and lower than expected sales.

2012-11-26 | Courtesy: Meyer Burger; Image: Roth & Rau | solarserver.com © Heindl Server GmbH

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