China-based vertically integrated solar manufacturer LDK Solar has reduced its workforce by more than 5,000 this year. The number represents more than 20% of its total employees.
According to an investor earnings call cited by Reuters, LDK Solar's stock price reached a six-month low of $2.55 this week. The job cuts came as the company dealt with plunging PV module prices that eroded its profit margins.
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, LDK Solar had net sales of $420.2 million and shipped 197.1 MW of wafers and 255.5 MW of cells and modules, according to its financial report. This compares to $920.9 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
‘The solar industry experienced a tremendous supply and demand imbalance throughout the value chain during the fourth quarter,’ says Xiaofeng Peng, chairman and CEO of LDK Solar. ‘Our results reflected the negative effects of this dislocation in the PV market.’
Peng predicts that ‘excess capacity and further policy uncertainties in Europe and the U.S.’ this year will continue to cause stress and intense competition in the industry.
