Hundreds of jobs threatened
Brandenburg solar glass manufacturer GMB is about to go out of business
February 28, 2024, 11:27 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Now the Brandenburg GMB glass manufacturer is also sounding the alarm. According to a media report, the company needs “effective short-term support measures” – otherwise it will have to stop production. GMB is said to be the largest employer in the region.
According to a report in “Spiegel”, the Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg (GMB), which produces special glass for the solar industry among other things, is on the verge of extinction. Without “short-term effective support measures”, the company would not be able to maintain flat glass production in Tschernitz near the Polish border, the magazine quoted from a letter from the majority owner Borosil to the leaders of the traffic light coalition as well as to the Union and the Left.
“If no decisions are made to support the German solar industry in March, Borosil will have to stop production in Tschernitz and close GMB,” the letter continues. “GMB is the largest employer in the region,” said the head of the board GMB parent company Interfloat, Christian Kern, told “Spiegel”. If production were to stop, 300 jobs would be directly affected. Kern was a former Austrian Chancellor.
GMB has owned 86 percent of Borosil Renewables since October 2022. The remaining shares are held by the Blue Minds Company, according to the GMB page. According to “Spiegel”, the company is the last solar glass manufacturer in Germany.
Meyer Burger wants to close the factory in Freiberg
The solar industry in Europe is suffering from a high supply of cheap modules, which are entering the market primarily from China. The Swiss solar cell manufacturer Meyer Burger warned on Friday that without subsidies it would have to close the solar module factory in Freiberg, Saxony, and relocate part of its production to the USA.
Representatives of the SPD and the Greens have spoken out in favor of keeping at least a basic level of production capacity in the solar industry in Germany. They propose a so-called resilience bonus, which should be built into solar package 1. This bonus is intended to increase the feed-in tariff for solar power producers who buy products from Europe. The FDP is against it.