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According to a letter sent to employees by the management of the Onshore Wind unit. This plan, justified in particular by losses incurred since 2021, has been presented to the European representative bodies of the personnel.
“These proposals could potentially affect approximately 570 positions in all functions and in several countries in Europe,” says the letter from GE, which is active in this sector mainly in Germany, France and Spain.
“In recent years, GE’s onshore wind business in Europe has faced significant volatility and challenges,” the group details in its letter signed by Vic Abate and Sheri Hickock, bosses of Onshore Wind, the onshore wind business.
“Our European business recorded significant losses in 2021 and continues to be unprofitable in 2022,” they added, saying the “business outlook remained challenging” and that “the current approach in Europe (was) not sustainable.” This restructuring only concerns GE’s onshore wind power branch, while the offshore branch is doing quite well. “Announced two weeks ago”, this plan “aims to rationalize the activity according to the realities of the market”, reacted a GE spokesman contacted by AFP.
It “does not reflect the dedication and hard work of our employees in the region,” he said. The U.S. conglomerate, active in the aviation, healthcare and energy sectors, did better in the second quarter of 2022 than Wall Street had expected, with revenue of $18.6 billion (+2% compared to Q2 2021) and profit of $1.7 billion (+45%).
In the second quarter, the group benefited from the good health of its aeronautics activities – an industry for which it manufactures and supplies aircraft engines – but its sales for renewable energies fell by 23%, to $3.1 billion.
