Hundreds lose jobs as Koreans' EU offshore wind dream turns sour

A flagship European monopile foundation production site faces hundreds of job losses after orders dried up amid what its owners called “political interventions and unfavorable business cases” for offshore wind projects.

CS Wind Offshore had only just finished ramping up its Lindø site at Odense Port in Denmark when it said market conditions would force it to shed an expected 220 staff, which the company confirmed is the majority of those working there, and leave the facility “idle for a substantial period of time”.

The company said today that the downshift came at a time when “several offshore wind projects are being either postponed or cancelled due to political interventions and unfavorable terms for business cases.”

The former Bladt had established itself as an early player in the US sector with deliveries to Vineyard Wind 1 and Coastal Virginia Offshore wind, which are both currently being completed.

The prospect for new US orders looks bleak amid the sustained policy assault by Donald Trump that has seen multiple projects either cancelled or put on ice.

CS Wind vice chairman Knud Bjarne Hansen said: “Over the past couple of years our employees have worked very hard to get our monopile factory fully up and running. Great progress has been made, and it is highly regrettable that we now see no other option than to ramp down due to a lack of new orders.

“We sincerely regret the impact this is likely to have on good and highly competent colleagues, who have dedicated their time and efforts to the company.”

Despite the setback CS Wind Offshore insisted it still has a future in the monopile business.

The company said it “remains committed to the business area and expects to deliver its high quality monopiles to customers once again in the future, possibly not just from the factory at Odense Port, but also leveraging the global production setup that CS Wind has available”.