Crisis strikes
Heat pump manufacturer Nibe is cutting hundreds of jobs
March 18, 2024, 5:15 p.m
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The persistently weak demand for heat pumps is causing the manufacturer Nibe to cut hundreds of jobs. The Swedish company cites the crisis in the construction sector as the cause and speaks of “difficult market conditions”.
The Swedish heat pump manufacturer Nibe has announced hundreds of job cuts. In Sweden, 340 jobs will be lost and a “similar number” will be cut in other European countries, the company announced on Wednesday. The main reason for this is the crisis in the construction sector, which is having a strong impact on demand for heat pumps.
In February, Nibe had already announced that it would cut 500 of its total of around 20,000 jobs. The company has now specified the specific number for Sweden. Negotiations should begin for the cuts in other countries. The decision was “necessary due to the difficult market conditions,” Nibe explained. “The start of 2024 has confirmed much weaker demand in the European heat pump market.”
Marc Schmitz, owner of the plumbing company of the same name, said in an interview with ntv.de at the end of January about sales of heat pumps: “Demand has collapsed. We are of course still installing heat pumps because everyone who builds a new building or renovates it anyway decides to do so. But the great demand that companies and politicians had expected has not materialized.” According to Schmitz, this could change with municipal heat planning.
The Federal Association of the German Heating Industry (BDH) and the Federal Heat Pump Association (BWP) reported a record year for heat pump sales in Germany in 2023. The manufacturers sold a total of 356,000 devices, an increase of 51 percent compared to the previous year.
Fossil fuels cost trap?
At the same time, sales of climate-damaging heating systems also increased. Sales of gas heating systems rose sharply last year – after a decline in 2022 – to the record level of 790,500 boilers sold, according to BDH and BWP. Sales of oil heaters, which have been particularly criticized by climate activists, doubled to 112,500 devices in 2023. For some buyers this could become a cost trap.
“The fact that so many people invested in new oil and gas heating systems last year is tragic, because they will pay so much more for them in the next few years. They were simply lied to. The additional costs will really hurt in the next 10 to 20 years. This promotes energy poverty,” said Bastian Gierull from the energy supplier Octopus Energy in ntv’s “Climate Laboratory”.