By Dominic Chopping

Vestas Wind Systems could cut hundreds of jobs at its Isle of Wight factory in the U.K. as it plans to repurpose the site to manufacture onshore turbine blades.

The factory currently manufactures offshore blades for an older turbine and the site isn't suitable to produce the next generation of offshore blades, the Danish wind turbine maker said Wednesday.

However, following an agreement in principle with the U.K. government, Vestas said it intends to use the factory to build onshore blades to mainly serve the U.K. market.

The company said the transition to onshore blades will help meet increased demand in the country following the government's decision to open up onshore wind in England.

The company's manufacturing operations on the island currently employ around 600 people and Vestas said the agreement with the government will sustain around 300 jobs while a number of opportunities will be offered to workers in other parts of the business.

"My thoughts today are with the staff at Vestas who are facing uncertainty about the future of their jobs, especially at this time of year," U.K. energy secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement.

"I am, however, pleased that we have reached this agreement in principle with the company to save 300 jobs on the site, and that our lifting of the ban on onshore wind farms is helping make a site earmarked for closure viable for the future," he added.

Vestas said it will now go into a consultation process with employee representatives and aims to have clarity for most employees by January.

The company's technology activities, which employ around 140 people on the island, won't be affected, it added.

Vestas employs more than 33,000 people globally and more than 1,500 in the U.K. across onshore and offshore activities.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 11, 2024 08:26 ET (13:26 GMT)

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