Vestas lays off 2,300 in Denmark; U.S. next?
One of the supposed "green" saviors of the Portland economy, which has been handed several taxpayer mega-subsidies to move to a Mark Edlen-renovated warehouse in the Pearl District, broke the news this morning that it is shrinking in a major way as an employer:
Vestas A/S, the world's biggest maker of wind turbines in terms of revenues, said Thursday it will lay off around 2,300 employees, mainly in Denmark, because of a market downturn caused by the financial crisis.The company, headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, said a potential slowdown in the United States could also result in the layoff of an additional 1,600 employees there.
It said the U.S. layoff plans would mainly depend on whether the Production Tax Credit — which gives a favorable low tax rate to makers of renewable energy — would be extended or not. In 2010, Vestas was awarded about $51 million in tax credits through the U.S. federal stimulus program.
Although its U.S. operations are headquartered in Portland, Ore., Vestas has invested more than $1 billion in four facilities in Colorado.
Will Vestas still be around for a ribbon-cutting in Portland? There's a good chance not. Even if it is, that new headquarters was a bad, bad bet on the part of the city. That company doesn't seem likely to make it in the long run.
| Posted at 2:46 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (7)
Gee whiz, so energy tax credits can't help us compete with the Chinese? Looks like time for another law suit to fix our economic ills.
OR, instead of trying to pick companies to dump money on, we could invest in turning out more educated people, but then again its easier to build streetcar tracks.
Posted by Steve | January 12, 2012 8:45 AM
If these people have to depend on tax credits to stay in business; maybe it's time to shut the business down and try something capable of turning an honest profit.
Posted by Dave A. | January 12, 2012 9:13 AM
Bankrupt Solyndra seeking to pay bonuses
Court’s OK sought for ‘incentive plan’
http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/11/bankrupt-solyndra-seeking-to-pay-bonuses
The system's broken beyond repair.
Posted by msmith | January 12, 2012 9:26 AM
Bet is right.
Posted by dg | January 12, 2012 9:27 AM
There's not enough birds on top of the Vestas building.
Posted by Erik H. | January 12, 2012 9:42 AM
It could be even worse. A commercial broker told me that the lease was signed by a subsidiary not legally equivalent to the parent company. No recourse baby. End result will be that Mark Edlen will have a well finished building.
Posted by Big swede | January 12, 2012 2:42 PM
Don't forget SoloPower! That thing is going to be DOA when/if it finally gets built. Another $197M in Department of Energy guaranteed loans down the drain, and more egg on Obama's face.
http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2012/01/solopower-solarworld-among-companies.html
Posted by Steve in Aloha | January 12, 2012 4:51 PM