As the leader in onshore wind and with a vision to become the global leader in sustainable energy solutions, Vestas plays a key role in large-scale deployment of renewables across the globe. To address the climate crisis however, the build-out of renewable energy must accelerate, and Vestas therefore wants to extend its leadership to encompass offshore wind. As a first step in this journey, Vestas has acquired MHI Vestas Offshore Wind (MVOW) and following closing of the agreement, which took place on December 14, 2020, Vestas has begun the integration of Vestas and MVOW into one organization based on one shared operating model and unified culture.
Offshore wind is expanding to new regions of the world and, with onshore wind already present in all parts of the world, the integration of the two companies includes combining, expanding, and simplifying existing functions within Vestas to meet market demand and create synergies. Through this integration, the company is building a stronger and more competitive Vestas across its onshore and offshore businesses, and its planning has shown synergies across several functions, which unfortunately entail redundancies.
Consequently, Vestas intends to lay off approximately 220 colleagues primarily in Denmark and Great Britain, with the majority being in Denmark. No layoffs are expected of hourly paid employees.
“Since we announced the agreement to acquire MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, we have meticulously planned how we can build a united and strong Vestas organization that can lead and scale up in both onshore and offshore wind,” said Henrik Andersen, group president and CEO of Vestas. “I want to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication during a difficult period where my colleagues have contributed to both the integration planning and execution of commercial commitments. We have now started implementing our integration plans, which unfortunately includes letting around 220 hardworking colleagues go. It is never easy to make such a decision or say goodbye to good colleagues, but integrating and simplifying two companies inherently creates overlaps between functions, and it’s therefore necessary if we want to create a competitive and scalable organization.”
The organizational integration will continue throughout 2021 and include a consolidated and simplified organizational setup, which was scheduled to be announced internally February 1. The new organization will also adopt a strong focus on creating a unified culture rallied around accelerating the energy transition and Vestas’ values of passion, accountability, simplicity, and collaboration.
Vestas will now go into a consultation process with relevant employee representatives and was expected to have clarity for most employees by the end of January. Due to certain legal processes and requirements, the process may, however, take slightly longer outside Denmark. Following the announcement, Vestas employs more than 29,000 globally and about 6,000 in Denmark across onshore and offshore activities.
More info www.vestas.com
