US Customs delays power photo voltaic large Qcells to furlough 1,000 staff

Photo voltaic panel large Qcells introduced at present that it’s briefly furloughing 1,000 US staff – 25% of its workforce – and lowering pay and shifts at its factories in northeast Georgia attributable to provide chain delays attributable to US Customs.

Qcells furloughs 1,000 staff

The provision chain delays are hindering the corporate’s skill to import elements to construct its photo voltaic panels. This has resulted in Qcells’ two factories in Cartersville and Dalton being unable to function at full capability for a number of months.

Qcells spokeswoman Marta Stoepker shared the next assertion in an unique with Channel 2 Motion Information in Atlanta:

The corporate says the furloughed staff, who had been notified this afternoon, will retain full advantages and gained’t be laid off. Nevertheless, Qcells will not be utilizing staffing company staff in Georgia “right now.”

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As Qcells launched new provide chains to assist its rising photo voltaic panel manufacturing amenities in Georgia, the corporate was not too long ago compelled to cut back manufacturing whereas our shipments into the US had been delayed within the customs clearance course of.

Though our provide chain operations are starting to normalize, at present we shared with our staff that HR actions should be taken to enhance operational effectivity till manufacturing capability returns to regular ranges.

Stoepker stated it expects to carry the furloughed staff again “within the coming weeks and months.” She continued:

Our dedication to constructing the complete photo voltaic provide chain in the US stays. We’ll quickly be again on monitor with the complete power of our Georgia group delivering American-made vitality to communities across the nation.

Electrek’s Take

In January 2023, the Seoul-headquartered Qcells introduced it might make investments greater than $2.5 billion to construct a photo voltaic provide chain in Georgia – the largest-ever funding in clear vitality manufacturing within the US so far. That included increasing the Dalton photo voltaic manufacturing facility and constructing a completely built-in photo voltaic provide chain manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Georgia, that can manufacture photo voltaic ingots, wafers, cells, and completed panels.

It’s not fairly there but, as a result of that takes time. Within the meantime, it’s being penalized by Customs. The US authorities below Trump says it’s eager on boosting home manufacturing. Why wouldn’t it work in opposition to an organization that’s onshoring a whole photo voltaic provide chain, together with recycling?

Dalton and Cartersville make use of almost 4,000 folks. Its whole output will attain 8.4 GW of photo voltaic manufacturing capability per 12 months, which is equal to almost 46,000 panels per day – sufficient to energy roughly 1.3 million properties yearly.

It’s ludicrous that it has been compelled to furlough 1 / 4 of its workforce because of the ineptness of the Trump administration’s US Customs insurance policies. That is proper up there with the ICE arrests at Hyundai’s plant in Georgia. Bravo.

Learn extra: Georgia offers US photo voltaic panel manufacturing an enormous increase with a brand new manufacturing facility

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