Vestas Announces Organizational Changes (Denmark)

Yesterday, Vestas has disclosed a company announcement outlining its organizational changes.

Globally, Vestas expects to lay off 2,335 employees by ceasing manufacturing at a factory, merging production units and centralising administrative functions. Additional cost reductions are being prepared as a result of the market development, primarily in the USA.

As its mentioned in the company announcement, vestas aims to reduce fixed costs by more than EUR 150m, with full effect as from the end of 2012. Layoffs are expected in a number of countries, and negotiations with relevant employee associations will be initiated.

Vestas enters 2012 with the strongest order backlog ever,but there is a need for Vestas to adjust its strategy and to reduce costs significantly in order to prepare for la market with low growth and increased competition.

“In 2011, we managed to secure a significant number of orders in a difficult market. But we want to get even closer to our customers and therefore we are creating a much more customer-oriented Vestas,” Ditlev Engel says.

“We are changing the organisation by introducing a new Global Solutions and Services unit geared to developing new services to existing and future wind power systems, in order to take advantage of our unique knowledge of wind. In this way, we strengthen Vestas’ ability to develop customers’ businesses in an increasingly high-tech driven wind energy industry,” Ditlev Engel says.

As part of the changes, Vestas will in the future be managed by an Executive Management consisting of six members headed by President and CEO Ditlev Engel. The other five Executive Vice Presidents will be responsible for the following areas: Turbines, Global Solutions and Services, Finance, Sales and Manufacturing.

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Offshore Wind Staff, January 13, 2012 ; Image: Vestas