LG Electronics has announced that it will pull out of the global solar panel business, winding down production of solar panels in the coming months, before ultimately shutting down at the end of June. The board of directors, based in South Korea, approved this decision last week. While LG will wind down its solar panel production this spring, the company has said that it will continue to support U.S. solar customers by honoring all limited warranties.
John I. Taylor, senior vice president of LG Electronics USA Inc., spoke to Electrek and cited issues such as increasing materials costs, increasing logistics costs, and supply chain constraints, as major factors in this decision. Taylor went on to say that LG is looking ahead with a focus on other products and services such as energy storage systems and energy management solutions.
The decision will have a significant impact in Huntsville, Alabama, where LG has been assembling solar panels since 2018. Around 160 employees and 60 contract workers are expected to be affected by the company’s withdrawal from the solar panel market. In a statement, Thomas Yoon, president and CEO of LG Electronics North America, said, “We hope we can retain many of our talented and dedicated employees.”
LG will meet with U.S. solar panel workers in an attempt to identify potential opportunities in other areas of the company’s business and manufacturing units. For those employees who will not be continuing with LG, they will be offered transition support and severance packages.
The news will come as a disappointment for the U.S. solar industry, given the Biden administration’s focus on the expansion of domestic clean energy manufacturing and jobs. It’s also bad news from a customer perspective, as LG solar panels were just ranked as the number one solar panel brand by independent comparison site SolarReviews in November 2021. On a local level, the announcement is cause for concern among workers in Huntsville.
The full press release from LG is available here, and a short FAQ regarding the decision can be viewed at this link. Additionally, you can call LG’s customer support center at 1-833-388-2121 if you have any further queries.
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Sources:
https://electrek.co/2022/02/23/lg-electronics-is-going-to-stop-manufacturing-solar-panels-heres-why/
https://www.lg.com/us/notice-2
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