Vesta axes 1,900 wind turbine jobs

Denmark-based Vestas, the world’s biggest maker of wind turbines, this week announced plans to axe 1,900 jobs despite a 70% increase in profit.

Net profits for the first three months of 2009 were €56 million, up from €33 million in the first quarter of 2008.

However, Vestas said it needs to cut jobs in northern Europe because demand for wind turbines is slacking off in the recession.

Around 600 of the job cuts will be in the UK, whilst the other jobs axed will mainly be in Denmark.

Vestas’s turbine plant on the Isle of Wight, which employs 450 people on the island, will be shut down completely.

The company said commitments by European governments, including Germany in the UK, to increase renewable energy output has not yet translated into a rise in demand for wind turbines.

One day after announcing the job cuts, Vestas reported a successful share issue of 18.5 million shares, raising €800 million.