Sharp to Halt Solar Panel Production at Memphis Plant
Output will stop by the end of March, and the number of jobs to be cut at the plant in Memphis will be decided after talks with the labor union, said Miyuki Nakayama, a spokeswoman for Sharp. The Nikkei newspaper reported that as many as 300 employees are expected to be dismissed at the factory.
The Osaka-based company is reconsidering its production capacity for solar products, Nakayama said. Sharp said last month that it will stop producing solar panels at its U.K. plant in Wales by the end of February and cut as many as 250 employees.
“We are in the middle of structural reform for our solar business,” Nakayama said.
snip
The two plants in the U.K. and Tennessee are quite old by global standards and are unlikely to be cost competitive,” said Jenny Chase, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Zurich. “It’s likely to be cheaper to outsource module assembly to manufacturers with newer, more automated lines in China, southeast Asia, Mexico and Poland.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-23/sharp-to-end-solar-panel-production-in-tennessee-by-end-of-march.html
