Hundreds laid off as renewable power plant closes in Ontario

Siemens Wind Power Limited has announced that the wind blade manufacturing plant in Tillsonburg, Ontario, will be closed by early 2018.

The closure will affect 340 employees and will take place in phases throughout 2017.

“This was a very difficult decision that was taken only after assessing all the options,” said David Hickey, head of Siemens Gamesa Bussiness Canada, in a statement.

“We have a great team of employees at the plant who have produced quality work for the last six years, and we sincerely appreciate all their efforts. However, the harsh reality is that, in order to remain competitive, we must constantly evaluate our global manufacturing footprint.”

According to Siemens, the plant will be closing due to changes in the global and regional markets, as well as physical limitations at the existing plant.

“Our focus at this point is on the employees affected by this announcement,” said Hickey. “In addition to their severance packages, we will be providing all affected employees with career counselling, job-placement assistance—including resume preparation—and redeployment where possible,”

The plant opened for operation in 2011 to provide wind blades for projects. Since then, it produced more than 2,500 blades for projects in Ontario, Quebec, the US, UK, and Sweden.

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