Summary
- Orsted plans to cut 2,000 jobs by 2027
- Danish company to focus more on offshore wind and Europe
Reuters) – Orsted, the world’s biggest offshore wind farm developer, will cut about 2,000 jobs by the end of 2027, a quarter of its workforce, and will focus more on Europe after setbacks in the U.S.
Orsted expanded rapidly over the past decade, but more recently has faced higher costs from supply chain disruption and inflation, plus the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions against offshore wind projects.
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“This is a necessary consequence of our decision to focus our business and the fact that we’ll be finalising our large construction portfolio in the coming years – which is why we’ll need fewer employees,” CEO Rasmus Errboe said in a statement on Thursday.
When asked if the job cuts were due to the problems in the U.S., Errboe told journalists the decision was not related to specific U.S. projects.
Orsted raised $9.42 billion this week through a heavily discounted rights issue to shore up its balance sheet, following the challenges in the U.S. where Trump’s opposition to renewable energy has created uncertainty for the industry.
Orsted said the job cuts would coincide with a decline in construction activities and would help make the group more competitive as it concentrates more of its activities on Europe.
Errboe said towards the end of the decade, the industry could see a period with little or no new offshore wind projects, but he remained positive on its long-term future.
“In many ways, you see the fundamentals in Europe moving in the right direction when it comes to offshore wind,” Errboe said.
He said political support for offshore wind is driven by energy security and the need for electrification, with suppliers and contractors to the industry turning their focus to Europe, while oil and gas companies step back from renewable energy.
The staff cuts and other efficiency measures are expected to give Orsted annual cost savings of approximately 2 billion Danish crowns ($311.31 million) from 2028, the company added.
Orsted’s share price rose 0.9% by 1142 GMT.
($1 = 6.4245 Danish crowns)
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