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Solarworld to file for insolvency

May 10, 2017

German solar panel maker Solarworld has said it's forced to file for insolvency any time soon. The Bonn-based company has been in the red for a long time, fighting predominantly Asian competition.

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Solarworld logo
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg

Once the flagship of Germany's solar industry, Solarworld announced Wednesday the company could not be rescued in its current form, meaning it had to file for insolvency "without further delay."

The firm's board said the company's outlook was far too bleak to keep on trying, pointing to a big mountain of debt.

Solarworld has been fighting an uphill battle against rapidly sinking prices for solar panels on global markets caused by overcapacities in China and elsewhere.

No future

Last year, the Bonn-based firm logged some 92 million euros ($100 million) in losses. But earlier this year, Solarworld executives nurtured the hope that a turnaround could still be achieved through a massive cost-cutting program.

The scheme involved the slashing of 400 jobs and a raft of streamlining measures, while a plan to cushion the impact on workers had already been drawn up at Arnstadt and Freiberg in Germany.

Cheap competition from China has not been the only headache for the company. Solarworld may eventually have to pay a huge sum in compensation, should a regional court in the US side with domestic components part supplier Hemlock, who had charged Solarworld with violating its long-term supply contracts.

hg/jd (Reuters, dpa)