PVTIME – High efficiency solar module producer SunPower Corporation announced via filing with the SEC that, in response to the demand hit caused by COVID-19, the company has suspended solar production in its factories in France, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, and the U.S.
In the meantime, in an effort to “proactively address financial and operational impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and position itself well for when the solar industry returns to strong growth”, SunPower’s Compensation Committee has approved the temporarily reduction of executive pay, the freezing of all hiring and merit increases, and the reduction of the workweek of some employees.
The company is optimistic that demand will return when the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, saying that expectations are that the plants “will come back online in the coming weeks”, and that existing inventory was sufficient to meet customer’s needs for the time being.
On the subject of last year’s announcement regarding plans of splitting of its operations into two independent, publicly traded companies, SunPower is still expecting the process to be completed by the end of the second quarter.
