Vestas closes despite government funding

A £6m handout from the government has failed to prevent the closure of Vestas Technology’s Isle of Wight factory.

According to the turbine manufacturer the company is closing its renewable energy plant, with the loss of 600 jobs, because the UK onshore wind market is not growing quickly enough. Production will be moved to Colorado.

The job cuts were announced in April, but it had been hoped that post-budget government funding for the green sector would enable Vestas to keep the plant open.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

The new funding will be used by Vestas’ offshore research and development division.

The company is seeking a possession order in a bid to regain control of its factory, which has been occupied by 25 non-unionised staff since last Tuesday.