According to Saxony’s Economics Minister Martin Dulig, the final end of the production of solar modules in Freiberg is a bad signal for Europe.
“We want to make the energy transition successful,” said the SPD politician on Wednesday on the sidelines of a company visit to the city. That’s why solar production is also needed in Europe. He hopes that it will continue to be possible to create new, competitive structures for a solar industry in Europe so as not to be dependent on China.
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The Swiss company Meyer Burger announced on Tuesday that around 500 employees in Freiberg had been laid off. More than 400 people will lose their jobs as a result.
The others were offered contracts in other areas. This was preceded by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP)’s rejection of the so-called resilience bonus, which was intended to protect manufacturers in Europe who were under pressure. Meyer Burger had made the future of production in Freiberg dependent on this support.
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Greentech Saxony: “We still have the know-how”
“We still have the know-how,” emphasized Dulig. “That’s why we have to see whether we can join forces to keep this know-how here in East Germany.” The companies in the region were the only ones that were in Europe on a scale and with technology that could have been competitive with China.
“This is a very black day for the German solar industry, and I think we will very much regret the decision in the next few years,” said Freiberg’s mayor Sven Krüger.
Danger of growing dependence on China
He pointed out the danger of growing dependence on China. He was confident that the affected employees would quickly find new jobs. However, the region is losing a technology in which it is a world leader. Krüger warned that this would take revenge. “The solar industry in East Germany has been sent into bankruptcy twice. She won’t come back a third time.”
In 2018, Germany’s once largest solar module manufacturer, Solarworld, finally filed for bankruptcy and closed the Freiberg location with around 600 employees. New hope arose when Meyer Burger started producing modules in 2021 and started new production in the former Solarworld halls.