GE Vernova to trim offshore wind unit, slashing hundreds of jobs

GE Vernova says it plans to cut the size of its offshore wind business, a move that could result in the elimination of 900 jobs around the world, according to reports from Reuters and the New York Times.

A spinoff from the General Electric industrial conglomerate, GE Vernova said it had presented a proposal on Sept. 19 for reducing the company’s size to its European Works Council, which represents its workers, a necessary step before job cuts.

The company cited cost inflation and supply chain challenges that have hurt the wind sector over the last year, but it also has suffered delays to two major projects it is supplying – Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts and Dogger Bank in the UK – due to incidents involving its turbine blades.

“The proposal reflects industry wide challenges for wind and aims to transform our Offshore Wind business into a smaller, leaner and more profitable business within GE Vernova,” the company is reported to have said.

GE Vernova had attracted widespread praise from analysts in the past, but the company recently said that it expected to lose $300 million in 3Q 2024.

Analysts say that the company’s struggles are a blow to the offshore wind industry, which is a major source of electric power in northern Europe and is thought to have potential to supply large volumes of green energy to the East Coast of the United States.

A substantial downsizing of GE Vernova would leave just two main western players, Siemens Gamesa of Germany and Vestas Wind Systems of Demark – a situation that could leave the industry short of construction capacity and could push equipment prices higher, raising consumer bills, analysts say.