Siemens Gamesa has decided to shut down its Aoiz factory, which is not competitive in the market environment to produce blades for large turbine models.

The Navarre plant manufactures the SG 3.4-132 for projects primarily located in Spain. Its higher costs and geographic location, more than 200 kilometers from the nearest port, render it uncompetitive for world markets.

The company will start a collective dismissal procedure for a maximum of 239 employees. In compliance with relevant laws and regulations, talks with local employees council are expected to begin in the coming days. Once negotiations are concluded, information on the final agreements will be communicated.

“We are making a difficult decision and I am fully aware of the impact it will have in some of our employees as well as the local community. We will do our best to support our colleagues through this transition. We do not take decisions with such a grave impact lightly and over the past months we have examined carefully every option at our disposal and have reluctantly concluded there is no alternative to this action. In the current circumstances, we have the obligation of adopting the measures needed to secure the long-term sustainability of this company and the jobs of more than 24.000 colleagues around the world, including close to 5.000 in Spain.”

Alfonso Faubel, CEO onshore of Siemens Gamesa.