After the record year of 2023, in which the solar industry recorded exponential growth, the industry is now in a hangover mood. The further growth expectations were too optimistic and will not be fulfilled any time soon. The Upper Austrian model company Fronius is therefore forced to make a second wave of layoffs.
On Monday, 450 employees in Sattledt were informed that they had to leave and then registered their termination with the employment service. Another 200 in subsidiaries in the Czech Republic and Germany will also lose their jobs. “I am very sorry that we have to part with valuable and deserving team members for cost reasons. But unfortunately it has become necessary and unavoidable,” says CEO Elisabeth Engelbrechtsmüller-Strauß. Behind every termination there is a human fate and a family that is affected.
As reported, Fronius has seen massive growth in its workforce over the past two or three years due to strong demand for PV. After the current staff cuts, there are still 1,000 more people employed there than in 2021. “That’s no consolation for those affected, but it does help with classification,” says the company boss. Overall, the workforce will be reduced from 8,000 to 7,000 people this year.
Worldwide, 447 gigawatt peak (GWp) of PV capacity was installed last year, 2.6 GWp of which were in Austria. Installers and wholesalers hedged once morest possible supply bottlenecks with a sharp increase in orders, while industry might barely keep up with production.
But the situation changed towards the end of the previous year. Optimism gave way to a more realistic market assessment. Fronius introduced a short-time working model for 1,300 employees, which it financed itself, in order to survive the dip in demand.
But this dent is even more severe and long-lasting than expected. The management of the solar division has been replaced. The new management, led by Harald Scherleitner, carried out new market surveys three weeks ago at the world’s largest solar trade fair in Munich, Intersolar, and found that wholesalers have too many inverters in stock until 2025. Not just from Fronius, but also from Chinese manufacturers. This makes staff cuts unavoidable.
Market share gained
Engelbrechtsmüller-Strauß, the granddaughter of company founder Günther Fronius, sees reason for optimism despite all the problems. “We see that we have been able to gain market share in Austria and Germany, 13 percent in Germany and seven percent in Austria. However, the overall market in Germany has declined by 43 percent and in Austria by 25 percent. Fronius is one of the best-known brands for inverters worldwide and an alternative to Chinese suppliers.”
The group remains stable, and the welding technology and battery charging technology divisions are developing well. Based on current information, slight growth is expected in 2025. This means that no further personnel measures will be necessary. Short-time work will be ended once more.
Author
Dietmar Mascher
Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Head of Business Department
Dietmar Mascher
