Asian Solar-firms Outshine Their German Competitors
Germany's solar power industry, until recently the world leader in the technology, is facing an unprecedented crisis, analysts say, outshone by cheaper competitors from Asia, most notably Chinese firms.
Q-Cells, the world's biggest solar cell producer, last week issued a far from glowing set of results, with losses of 700 million euros (984 million dollars) in the first half of the year.
As a result, the German firm said it would cut 500 jobs from its workforce of 2,600 and put others on part-time working arrangements.
The crisis in the German solar industry is affecting small companies as well as giants such as Q-Cells. Only three months ago, start-up Sunline declared bankruptcy with the loss of all its 78 employees.
A glance at the TecDax, Germany's tech-heavy stock market index, nicknamed "SunDax" for the predominance of solar firms, tells the story, with some companies losing around 30 percent of their value since the start of 2008.
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