Meyer Burger files for insolvency, lays off over 900 workers

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Last week Meyer Burger Americas laid off all employees and the German subsidiaries of Meyer Burger Technology AG and Meyer Burger GmbH have each filed for insolvency proceedings.

Despite letting all workers go last week, the company said that Meyer Burger Americas will “remain in existence as a company.”

The company said in a statement:

Intensive efforts were made to keep the sites open during the ongoing restructuring negotiations. These efforts have not been successful to date and will now be continued as part of the proceedings together with a provisional insolvency administrator to be appointed by the court. The subsidiary Meyer Burger (Switzerland) AG, which employs around 60 people in Thun, will remain in operation.

In addition to ceasing production at the Goodyear, Arizona plant, the company is shutting down its solar cell manufacturing facility in Thalheim, Germany, which employed 331 people, as well as Meyer Burger Germany in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, which employed 289 people in mechanical engineering and technology development.

Meyer Burger had planned to produce 1.4 GW of heterojunction (HJT) solar modules in its Arizona facility. However, the first sign of trouble came in November when D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), one of the largest solar developers in the United States, terminated its master purchase agreement with the manufacturer. The five-year deal included purchasing up to 5 GW of solar modules and was instrumental in supporting the manufacturer’s new U.S. plant.

The DESRI deal was terminated after Meyer Burger canceled plans to open a 2 GW solar cell manufacturing facility in Colorado, saying that it was no longer financially viable. The company said continuing to manufacture solar cells in Germany was the most economical option in the current market conditions.

Meyer Burger was one of more than 100 new announced solar and storage factories in the Unites States since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), since federal manufacturing incentives were established, announced investments total $38.3 billion. House passage of the reconciliation bill has caused increased uncertainty for clean energy manufacturers investing in U.S. facilities. Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA, stated that the bill threatens the domestic manufacturing boom.

In a statement last month, Meyer Burger said it would delay release of its annual report from April 15 to May 31, 2025. In its statement released on May 31, however, the company requested an extension to that deadline. “Against the background of the ongoing financing discussions on restructuring, Meyer Burger is requesting an extension of the deadline for presenting its 2024 financial results.”

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