Further details surrounding the decision to put 600 staff members on notice at Vestas’ Isle of Wight factory have come to light, with some hope on the horizon as around 300 jobs could be saved as part of a Government-backed on-shore blade project.
Currently, manufacturing operations at the Isle of Wight and Fawley in Hampshire employ approximately 600 people across manufacturing, logistics and support functions. But, as first reported by Island Echo earlier today, 600 roles are now at risk with staff being told just 2 weeks before Christmas that they may not have a job in 2025.
Island Echo understands that the demand for off-shore turbines is changing, with bigger blades now being sought by the global market. As a result, the V174 blade currently produced on the Isle of Wight has gone out of favour.
It’s said that the Stag Lane factory is simply not big enough to build the next generation of blades, which are expected to be around 50% larger.
With the risk of the factory on the banks of the River Medina closing completely, the company has been working hard to explore different options for continued production of various blade variants on the Island, and how those potential opportunities align with the firm’s production portfolio and market demand.
It has been revealed that the Isle of Wight factory is to be repurposed to produce on-shore turbine blades, reflecting the increased demand for on-shore wind power following the lifting of the ban by the Labour Government.
Vestas has entered into an Agreement in Principle with the UK Government to produce the V136 blade, which could secure around 300 local jobs. The firm says that it ‘greatly appreciates’ that the Government has ‘leaned forward’ to enable this change.
However, the 45-day redundancy consultation period will not end until 28th January, meaning all 600 families face an uncertain Christmas and New Year wondering whether they will be 1 of the 300 to be kept on come February 2025.
Vestas is also set to offer a ‘significant number’ of other positions within the organisation, both in the UK and internationally. But even with this offer and the repurposing of the Stag Lane factory, hundreds of jobs look set to be axed.
Ed Miliband, Labour’s Energy Secretary, has said:
“My thoughts today are with the staff at Vestas who are facing uncertainty about the future of their jobs, especially at this time of year.
“I am, however, pleased that we have reached this agreement in principle with the company to save 300 jobs on the site, and that our lifting of the ban on onshore wind farms is helping make a site earmarked for closure viable for the future.
“This agreement in principle will now need to be followed up by the formal due diligence process. But the action we are taking is designed to secure work at one of the Isle of Wight’s largest employers, and give the UK a vital new industrial capability for our clean energy future”.
Anders Nielsen, Group CTOO of Vestas, has said:
“We have invested in jobs and manufacturing activities on the Isle of Wight for more than two decades, and we have great pride in the technical expertise that has been developed at the site.
“We are pleased that this partnership in principle with the UK Government means we can continue manufacturing activities at the Isle of Wight to support the deployment of onshore wind in the UK.
“The commitment to domestic manufacturing and clean energy from the new government and Secretary of State has been instrumental in making this decision.
“My sincere gratitude goes to everyone working for us on the Isle of Wight, for their significant contribution to wind energy, and we are pleased to be retaining, and offering a significant number of opportunities for our impacted colleagues during this process.”
It has been confirmed that there may be an idle period between the production of the V174 ending and the start of production on the V136. During this period, staff will be stood down but still paid.
[…] GOVERNMENT DEAL FOR ON-SHORE WIND COULD SAVE 300 JOBS AT VESTAS […]
Not the first time this badly managed company has laid of staff
All part of the Net Zero nonsense.
The government didn’t care less in 2009 when 500 of us were thrown on the scrap heap.