PVTIME – Qcells, the US solar manufacturing subsidiary of Hanwha Solutions, has announced temporary changes to its workforce due to supply chain constraints. These changes include the redundancy of around 1,000 permanent employees, reduced hours at two plants in Georgia, and the termination of contracts for 300 workers. These changes will affect the company’s facilities in Dalton and Cartersville, Georgia.
A spokesperson confirmed that most of the permanent staff affected will retain full benefits, and that a return to full production and employee recalls is expected within the coming weeks or months. These changes follow previous cargo detentions by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. Several months ago, Qcells’ intermediate products, including solar cells and polysilicon from allied nations such as Malaysia and South Korea, faced heightened scrutiny and delays under US legislation.
While most detained shipments have now cleared customs, the prolonged holdups have disrupted production schedules and led the firm to scale back output and adjust staffing levels to improve operational efficiency. Notably, Qcells is progressing with a $2.5 billion expansion in Georgia, a key photovoltaic investment driven by the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which aims to establish a domestic supply chain covering ingots, wafers, cells, and modules.
Industry analysts have noted that this temporary reduction in production highlights a period of vulnerability for US solar manufacturing. While the IRA has accelerated domestic capacity growth, the sector remains dependent on certain imported components until a fully mature domestic supply chain is in place. Strict legislative enforcement has created border inspection bottlenecks, thereby increasing operational risks during the capacity ramp-up period.
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