Order delays lead to layoffs at Oerlikon Solar

Switzerland's Oerlikon Solar (VTX: OERL.VX) said it plans to layoff 60 employees and reduce the hours for 200 workers as it struggles with the economic slowdown.

Oerlikon Solar reported CHF 11 million ($9.7 million) in orders—a 40 percent decline—in the first quarter of 2009. The company cited the absence of any major deals and the delay of existing orders. Oerlikon also reported a 32 percent decline in sales to CHF 51 million.

Oerlikon attributed the slowdown to the difficulty that its customers are having in raising funds for expansion of production lines (see Record 2008 for cleantech with $8.4B in investments). The company expects the conditions to improve in the second half of 2009.

The same struggle is taking place at Oerlikon's main rival in sales of turn-key production lines. Earlier this week, Applied Materials CEO Mike Splinter said the economic downturn is continuing to make it difficult for Applied's cutomers to finance solar projects or manufacturing lines (see Applied has ‘a long way to go’ in smart grid tech).

In November, Oerlikon announced it improved the efficiency of solar modules and the output of its production lines (see Oerlikon sees 50% gains in thin-film fab). The company also received certification of the Amorph line from TÜV Rheinland, which cuts the time to production for customers by about a year.

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