'Thousands of jobs at risk' from Chinese threat to wind sector, Siemens Energy workers claim
State-subsidised Chinese OEMs' push into European markets also endangers energy transition and security, metal workers union and workers council warn
Germany’s powerful metal workers union IG Metall and the workers council of Siemens Energy and its wind turbine unit Siemens Gamesa have claimed unfair trade practices by Chinese rivals will have grave consequences for jobs in the nation's wind industry and endanger its energy transition and security.
The order was problematic as the Chinese state is massively supporting wind energy businesses and is thus distorting competition, the release said, putting manufacturers and jobs under pressure in one of the most important sectors of the future, and increasing economic dependence in the sensitive field of energy supply.
“After the solar industry, we are exposing another future technology to the risk of falling victim to unfair competition. That must not happen. If Germany wants to be a leader in green technologies, then we must shape this with clear political will,” IG Metall co-chairman Jürgen Kerner said.
“The energy crisis following Russia's attack on Ukraine showed how critical dependence can be. We must not lose control of critical infrastructure - and that includes energy systems. As IG Metall, we expect that the security of the system is given greater weight during construction than getting hold of cheap components. The wind farm operators are responsible here, as are politicians, who must adapt tender conditions accordingly.”
“We cannot explain to our colleagues how we can allow thousands of jobs to be put at risk by unfair practices in industrial policy terms and why we are not much more politically active for a real level playing field, i.e. fair and transparent competitive conditions,” said Robert Kensbock, chairman of the general works council and deputy chairman of the supervisory board at Siemens Energy.
Green power groups such as WindEurope have repeatedly warned that cheap financing by Chinese state banks allows Chinese OEMs to offer prices far below that of their European peers. They also stressed other factors such as cybersecurity concerns or an over-dependence on Chinese components.
“Politicians must take care of protecting wind energy in order not to endanger tens of thousands of jobs,” said Horst Hakelberg, co-chairman of the general works council and deputy chairman of the supervisory board at Siemens Gamesa Germany.
“At Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy alone, which is wholly owned by Siemens Energy, around 27,000 employees work for wind energy worldwide, around 3,500 of them in Germany.
“Across Europe, around 300,000 people work directly or indirectly in the wind industry. Above all, we must not deprive ourselves of the opportunity to implement the energy transition independently. New dependencies must be avoided at all costs."
Similar to steel production and electric cars, China also seems to be pursuing a strategy of dominating the market and displacing competitors when it comes to wind turbines, the joint release claimed, by building up massive overcapacity with state subsidies in order to push into markets outside China.
Four out of five of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers are already based in China, and subsidised Chinese rivals are already building up capacities in Europe and Germany, the workers representatives warn.
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