Crisis at Meyer Burger - insolvency for Saxon subsidiary

After years of financial difficulties and, most recently, short-time working, the German subsidiaries of Swiss solar manufacturer Meyer Burger, which together employ a good 600 people, have filed for insolvency. In Saxony, Meyer Burger Germany in Hohenstein-Ernstthal in the district of Zwickau, where 289 people are employed in mechanical engineering and technology development, and the solar cell manufacturer Meyer Burger Industries in Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Saxony-Anhalt, where 331 people are employed.

The company, which is headquartered in Thun, Switzerland, explained its decision by saying that restructuring to preserve the sites had not been successful to date. "They will now be continued as part of the proceedings together with a court-appointed provisional insolvency administrator," it said. The company was actually due to present its business figures for 2024 by 31 May. An extension of the deadline has been applied for against the backdrop of ongoing financing discussions on restructuring.

Saxony's Economics Minister Dirk Panter (SPD) sees Meyer Burger's insolvency as the end point of a development that had been looming for years. "It is a symbol of the creeping decline of an industry in Saxony and Germany," he said in Dresden. This should be a warning to pay more attention to our own interests and economic independence in future. "We must not risk losing important technologies and well-paid jobs because competing countries are subsidizing crucial branches of industry."

Company has been in trouble for some time

Meyer Burger Technology Ltd, headquartered in the Swiss town of Thun, researches, develops and produces solar cells and modules. It also operates a research center and a machine factory in Hohenstein-Ernstthal and a test center in Freiberg. The ailing company, which is currently undergoing restructuring, announced job cuts worldwide months ago.

The subsidiaries in Switzerland and the USA are to be retained. Just a few days ago, solar module production in the US state of Arizona, which was still under construction, was discontinued. Production there was planned to use solar cells manufactured in Germany.

According to preliminary figures from April, Meyer Burger generated sales of 69.6 million Swiss francs (74.17 million euros) in 2024, compared to 135 million Swiss francs in the previous year. The decline was mainly due to the strategic relocation of the business from Germany to the USA and the end of module production in Freiberg in March 2024 - three years after the plant opened there.

A spokeswoman explained at the time that Meyer Burger was committed to the remaining production sites in Germany. The change in the Group structure was intended to reduce the global workforce from around 1,050 to an expected 850 by the end of 2025 in order to return to profitability.