SunPower widens cost-cutting plan to include job cuts, plant closure

[December 07, 2016]  (Reuters) - SunPower Corp <SPWR.O>, the No. 2 U.S. solar panel maker, said on Wednesday it would lay off about 25 percent of its workforce, or 2,500 employees, and close one plant as part of a cost-cutting plan it announced last month.

Solar panels sit on the roof of SunPower Corporation in Richmond, California in this March 18, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Kim White/File Photo

Solar companies have been hard hit after stiff competition pushed prices of solar panels lower and as customers held off purchases in the hope of a further decline in prices.

SunPower, majority owned by French energy giant Total SA <TOTF.PA>, said it expects to incur restructuring charges of $225-$275 million through the end of 2017.

The company said in November the cost-cutting measures would include lowering operating expenses in 2017 to about $350 million and more than halving its capital budget for the year to about $100 million.

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.