Meyer Burger lays off 283 solar production workers in Arizona
The Meyer Burger plant near Phoenix, Arizona, has laid off 283 production workers and material handlers, as reported by local news. Meyer Burger planned to produce 1.4 GW of HJT solar modules in its Arizona facility.
The shutdown comes a year after the Swiss solar manufacturer began production in the United States. 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 US plant.
In December 2024, the company signed a new secured a bridge loan facility that was intended to provide the stability needed for restructuring and to re-negotiate an agreement with DESRI. Meyer Burger stated in April that it continues to rely on bridge financing to cover its short-term liquidity needs.
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.
Meyer Burger is not the first to cease production soon after (or even before) it started and it may not be the last. In April, pv magazine USA reported that Solar4America shut down manufacturing in California and South Carolina, with the South Carolina plant ceasing operations even before it began. In response to the reconciliation bill that recently passed the US House, Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA, stated that the bill threatens the domestic manufacturing boom.
In a statement in April, Meyer Burger said it would delay release of its annual report from April 15 to May 31, 2025, stating that “Meyer Burger’s going concern is materially uncertain and depends on significant new fundings as well as the successful implementation of its business plans.”