A photo taken on September 4, 2023 shows wind turbines at the Nysted offshore wind farm, built by Danish wind power giant Orsted in the Baltic Sea near Gessel, Denmark, between 2002 and 2003.
Thomas Traasdal | AFP | Getty Images
Embattled wind farm operator Orsted on Thursday announced its intention to cut its workforce by a quarter towards the end of 2027 in a bid to become more competitive and refocus its efforts on Europe.
Shares rose 0.7% in European trading on Thursday. Stocks came under pressure earlier this year amid a concerted White House effort to reduce renewable energy generation in the United States.
Orsted stock price
On his first day in office, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting new or renewed onshore and offshore wind power generation. He also told reporters earlier this year that the United States “is not going to play against the wind” during his presidency.
Over the summer, the Trump administration ordered Orsted to halt construction of its Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island. The project was 80% complete and was expected to power more than 350,000 homes. A U.S. court reversed that order last month.
Orsted lowered its full-year outlook in September, citing lower than normal offshore wind speeds across its offshore portfolio.
“Today, we told our employees that from now until the end of 2027, we will be saying goodbye to many skilled and valued colleagues who have made a huge contribution to Ørsted,” CEO Rasmus Arbaugh said in a statement on Thursday.
Orsted, which currently employs approximately 8,000 people worldwide, said it plans to reduce its workforce by 500 by the end of this year, ultimately cutting the number of employees by 2,000 in total. The company said it plans to reduce its workforce through attrition, position reductions, divestitures, outsourcing and layoffs.
Orsted’s annual savings are expected to reach 2 billion Danish kronor ($311 million) from 2028.
“This is a natural result of our decision to focus on our business and the fact that we will be completing a large construction portfolio over the next few years, which will require fewer employees,” Arbaugh added on Thursday. “At the same time, we want to create a more efficient and flexible organization and a structure that is more competitive and able to bid on offshore wind projects that create new value.”
—CNBC’s Sam Meredith and Spencer Kimball contributed to this article.
