Longi Layoffs Speed Move in Solar Production Away From China
- Most of the job cuts will likely be in China, says Daiwa’s Ip
- Chinese firms increasingly looking to move capacity offshore
The cuts mark a reversal after years of rapid expansion by Longi and other Chinese firms that made the country the center of global solar manufacturing.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Layoffs at Longi Green Energy Technology Co., the world’s biggest solar manufacturer, will likely accelerate a global rebalancing of production capacity away from China.
Longi, which employed as many as 80,000 people at one point last year, said on Monday that it would trim about 5% of its workforce. That followed a Bloomberg story in which several people familiar with the matter said that as many as 30% of staff at the Chinese solar giant could lose their jobs.