The Upper Austrian technology group Fronius, based in Pettenbach (Kirchdorf district), is cutting 350 of its 8,000 employees, with the site at Sattledt/Upper Austria being affected. The company attributed the layoffs to the ongoing solar crisis and weak sales in the Solar Energy business unit.
By the end of 2023, Fronius had already implemented shift cancellations and released leased workers. Internal short-time work was introduced for 1,300 employees in solar production for 2024. The situation deteriorated in the first two quarters of 2024 as the solar market failed to rebound. CEO Elisabeth Engelbrechtsmüller-Strauß hopes that the job cuts will reduce personnel costs sufficiently without the need for further layoffs.
Initially, supply chain issues and the PV boom caused by the energy crisis from Russia’s conflict with Ukraine resulted in Fronius being unable to meet demand. The company invested around 420 million euros in expanding production lines at the Sattledt and Český Krumlov sites in 2022 and 2023, hiring 2,000 new employees in the process. However, the CEO explained that wholesalers and installers are now reducing their stocks more slowly than anticipated due to lower energy costs and uncertainty surrounding subsidies.
The European solar industry as a whole is grappling with challenges, including dumping prices from Chinese manufacturers that have flooded the market with products below production costs. Fronius highlighted a lack of adequate response from European politicians to address these competitive distortions, leading to a disadvantage that has now impacted employment at the company.
Fronius, founded in 1945 as a one-man business, achieved sales of approximately 1.6 billion euros in 2023 (up from 1.2 billion euros in 2022) and employs around 8,000 individuals. The business is divided into three primary sectors: solar (60%), welding technology (35%), and battery charging (5%).