SolarEdge lays off another 400 employees

Israeli Solar Energy Company SolarEdge technologies (Nasdaq: SEDG) announced it will lay off 400 employees worldwide, the third round of layoffs in less than a year. The company said the move is intended to reduce costs and improve efficiency and that it will also result in one-time costs of between $3 million and $5 million in the first quarter of 2025 for various compensation and benefit payments. After the layoffs are completed, SolarEdge expects to save $9 million to $11 million in expenses each quarter.

SolarEdge implemented its first round of layoffs in January 2023, firing 900 employees, including 550 in Israel. A second round was carried out in July 2024, in which 400 employees were laid off, half of them in Israel. In November 2024, it announced the closure of its energy storage operation, a move that included laying off another 500 employees in South Korea. Before all these moves, SolarEdge employed 5,633 employees at the end of 2023, including 3,160 in Israel.

While previous rounds of layoffs were carried out by then-CEO Zvi Landau, the current round is being led by new CEO Shoki Nir. In a letter to employees, Nair wrote: “We strongly believe in the great opportunities SolarEdge provides over the long term. However, we must meet the challenges of 2025: achieving the financial stability required to achieve transformation and achieving the organizational goals that will support growth.”

He said that at this stage the company must reduce operating expenses, even after previous cuts and workforce reductions over the past year. He pointed out that the layoffs will be in all departments. “We understand how difficult and painful this time is for the SolarEdge team, and I have no doubt that you will show compassion for each other and support colleagues who will be affected. Our goal is to support employees as much as possible.”

Problems come in groups

In addition to the layoffs, Nir added that the company is considering additional regulatory steps to reduce further costs, and will announce them later.

“I can imagine many of you are asking yourself how we got to this point and, more importantly, how can we ensure this doesn’t happen again after everything we’ve been through in the past year,” Nair wrote. “I want to make it clear that these steps are absolutely necessary, so that the company becomes stronger and more resilient.” According to him, the company has already made significant progress in achieving financial stability. In this context, he mentions the agreements that will allow SolarEdge to benefit from the fact that it is manufactured in the United States as well as from selling tax benefits.

The company is suffering from major challenges in the market in which it operates, which has led to a decline in its results. The weakness comes against the backdrop of the accumulation of large inventory at distributors of the company’s products, which led to a decline in new orders.

In another effort to cut costs, SolarEdge is looking for subtenants for the campus Azrieli is building for it in Glilot.

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on January 6, 2025.

© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.